Apparatus and method for improving print quality of high speed package printer

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method relating to the print quality of a high speed package printer that produces photographs of varying size from film negatives. The high speed package printer includes a diffusion plate and a diffusion plate cleaner, and a film cleaner to remove dust and unwanted particles from the diffusion plate and film, thereby increasing the quality of prints from the printer. The apparatus increases print quality by having a plate that diffuses light from a light source shining on the photographic paper, and by automatically cleaning the diffusion plate with a brush during the time between exposures and while the photographic paper and photographic film are advancing. The apparatus also increases print quality with a film cleaning arrangement that includes applying an electrostatic charge to the film, brushing the surface of the film, vacuuming the surface of the film and using sticky rollers to remove any dust or other particles during the advancement of the film to the light source and during the time between exposures.

This is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 08/931,580, filed on Sep.16, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,523.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a printer for selectivelyprojecting photographic images onto a projection plane containingphotographic paper. More particularly, the present invention relates toa high speed photographic package printer for producing a plurality ofdifferent sets or packages of photographs based on one or morenegatives, wherein the improved package printer boasts an automaticpaper-loading feature, dynamically controlled paper-slack loops,off-center printing, a rotational prism for creating 10″×13″photographs, a 13-UP lens assembly including 12 wallet lenses and asingle 5″×7″ retro-focus lens, an automatic diffusion plate cleaner, animproved dichroic lamp filtering arrangement, a focal plane shutter,bi-directional film movement, an improved film cleaner, and improvedmasking.

II. Discussion of the Prior Art

Photographic package printers have experienced proliferated use andwidespread popularity due to their ability to generate custom madephotographic packages consisting of selected photographs of varyingsize, shape, and style based on one or more negatives. Photographicpackage printers accomplish this by providing a lamphouse from which abeam of light is directed through photographic film onto a projectionplane containing photographic paper for producing a print. In order tovary the shape and size of the particular prints, package printers areequipped with a plurality of movable lenses having varying magnificationratios so as to create a wide variety of exposures upon the photographicpaper. By way of example and not limitation, package printers arecommonly employed for processing the exposed photographic film fromannual school photography sessions wherein each student within theschool or class is photographed in any number of different poses usingone or a plurality of different backdrops. The student may thereafterchoose from among the various proofs generated during the photographysession to order a custom package containing any number of differentsize or style photographs, such as wallet-size, 5″×7,″8″×10,″ and10″×13″ photographs. However, the package printers of the prior artsuffer from several substantial drawbacks both in terms of the speed ofoperation and print quality.

With specific regard to the speed of operation, the prior art packageprinters have several time limiting features which collectively restrictthe ability of the package printers to operate at high speeds. One suchdrawback is that the prior art package printers typically requireconsiderable time and energy to load the paper into the paper deck forsubsequent exposure. Although several attempts have been made toautomate the paper loading process, these efforts fail to provide areliable means for guiding the paper during the loading stage such thatsignificant system down time may be experienced to rectify the situationand reload the paper. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,066 to Ozawa etal. discloses a paper transporting device for a photographic printerwhich utilizes retractable bridge members to support the paper duringthe loading stage, a first pair of drive rollers for drawing the paperinto the printer, and a second pair of drive rollers for propelling thepaper to a processing section of the printer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,296 toOzawa et al. discloses the use of retractable bridge members forcontrolling the transportation of the paper between a paper supplycartridge and a processing section. U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,093 also employsretractable bridge members so as to facilitate the loading of paper froma paper supply magazine into exposure apparatus and further to a take-upmagazine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,583 to Kitai entails maintaining thetraveling path of the photographic paper from a supply cartridge tonipping rollers in a straight manner by adjusting the height of an innerframe via elevator means. U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,784 to Nitsch discloses anapparatus for threading a new roll of paper into a photographic copier,comprising a retractable flap which, when disposed in the operative(guiding) position parallel to the paper, forms a passageway forthreading the new roll of paper into the photographic copier. However,although the improvements offered in these references provide benefitsover manual paper loading, their teachings are nonetheless flawed inthat they merely provide guidance along a single surface of the paper,thereby allowing the paper to buckle and become fouled up during theloading process.

Another time limiting feature of the prior art package printers relatesto the paper slack loops associated with the drive motors used to loadand advance the photographic paper. Paper slack loops are essentiallyreservoirs containing a length of photographic paper which allows thepaper to be advanced quickly into and out of an exposure area within thepaper deck by factoring out the inertia of the paper supply spool. U.S.Pat. No. 5,181,066 to Ozawa et al. discloses a pair of loop sensorsassociated with each paper slack loop for detecting when the particularloop has exceeded a predetermined threshold. U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,296 toOzawa et al. discloses a loop sensor for detecting a predeterminedlength of a first loop. U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,093 to Hicks also disclosesthe use of a pair of sensors for detecting when each particular paperslack loop exceeds a predetermined length. U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,385 toImamura discloses a photo-lab system having a plurality of loop sensorsfor controlling the length of the paper within the respective paper loopreservoirs. The paper slack loop sensing arrangements within theabove-identified references, however, are flawed in that they are notcapable of detecting the actual length of the paper within eachrespective paper loop reservoirs but rather are merely capable ofdetermining whether the particular paper loops have exceeded apredetermined limit or range. This is disadvantageous in terms ofresponsiveness in that a lag time exists between the instance that thesensors detect that the paper has exceeded the predetermined thresholdand the time that the drive motors are activated to advance the paper,thereby limiting the overall speed at which the package printer canoperate.

Another drawback stems from the manner in which 10″×13″ photographs aregenerated in prior art package printers. The traditional method forgenerating 10″×13″ photographs in package printers is illustrated inU.S. Pat. No. 5,162,843 to Clapp, wherein the photographic negative isphysically rotated within the film deck in order to project a 10″×13″image on the 10″ wide paper. Although effective at producing the 10″×13″photographs, this technique is particularly disadvantageous in that themechanical turrets employed to rotate the negative are extremely bulkyand heavy. The attendant bulk of the mechanical turret consumes asubstantial amount of valuable space within the package printer, whilethe exorbitant weight limits the speed at which the negative can berotated and causes substantial vibrations within the package printerwhich require lengthy settling time. The settling time and rotation timeare additive such that the overall amount of time required to generate a10″×13″ photograph is quite lengthy. Moreover, the mechanical turret canonly support a limited amount of photographic film such that the filmmust be reloaded quite often. This increases the overall down time forthe printer which, it will be appreciated, restricts the speed andthroughput of these package printers. The mechanical turrets are alsoflawed in that the bearings are prone to wear out and become damagedthrough repeated rotation which, once again, leads to increased systemdown time for repair.

Another significant flaw in the prior art package printers is that theyprint on-center, that is, the negative is co-aligned with theapproximate center of the photographic paper such that the image-bearinglight projects in a directly vertical fashion from the negative to theapproximate center of the photographic paper. U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,843 toClapp, for example, discloses one such package printer which employson-center printing. The main disadvantage of on-center printing is thatit requires an extra step of advancing the photographic paper for thepurpose of creating marking notches in the paper to indicate the end ofeach exposure and the end of each entire photographic session. Markingthe paper in this fashion aids in the photograph development process inthat the processing equipment can be equipped to interpret the variousnotches in order to automatically process, sort, and package theparticular photographs within each photographic session. In order toproperly mark each exposure and/or photographic session, the markingnotches are preferably placed at or near the leading edge of eachphotographic exposure on the paper such that the processing componentscan accurately detect their occurrence. Typically, the marking notchesare created through the use of one or more actuating cylinders disposedoff-center to the negative. In that the printing is on-center, i.e.directly above the negative, the paper must be advanced after eachexposure to accomplish the desired marking before advancing further toavail the next unexposed portion of paper. This is disadvantageous inthat the paper must be stopped prior to performing the aforementionedmarking process. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatthe extra step of stopping to conduct punching activities consumes asubstantial amount of valuable time.

Still other drawbacks with prior art package printers relate to the taskof producing a plurality of differently sized photographs with a singleexposure. More specifically, problems result due to the fact that thistask is typically accomplished by situating a plurality of lenses havinga variety of different magnification ratios on a single assembly withinthe lens deck. Each particular lens on the assembly has a correspondingfocal point which requires the lens to be positioned a predetermineddistance from the projection plane in order to produce the desired imageon the photographic paper. Thus, each lens has a specific verticalheight on the assembly which, in turn, causes the moment of inertia ofthe assembly to be far removed from the center of gravity of theassembly. This is disadvantageous in that removing the moment of inertiafrom the center of gravity causes the assembly to experience rockingduring movement back and forth within the lens deck, thereby increasingthe settling time between exposures. Still a further drawback withproducing multiple images with a single exposure is that the ray tracesfrom the various lenses tend to intersect if the number of lensesbecomes too concentrated on the assembly. The intersection of ray tracesis problematic in that it produces fouled or imperfect images on thephotographic paper.

A still further drawback with the package printers of the prior artrelates to the ability of the film to be translated during the operationof the package printer. To be more specific, the film within the packageprinters of the prior art are simply unidirectional, i.e. the film canonly progress from the film supply spool to the film take-up spool. Inthis arrangement, then, the number of different composites which can beformed is very limited in that the various negatives cannot be switchedback and forth into position over the lamp house. This effectivelylimits the range of possible composite photographs which can beaccomplished with the package printers of the prior art. In order toovercome this deficiency, separate printers are specifically employed tocreate composite photographs using a plurality of different negatives.This is disadvantageous, however, in that the package printer and thecomposite printer will have different color emulsions and, therefore,resulting composites will not share the same color as the printsgenerated by the package printer. The need for a separate compositeprinter is also disadvantageous in terms of the time required to performthe custom printing and, moreover, the film and/or paper is subject toan increased risk of damage during the transportation to and from thecomposite printer.

Yet another drawback with the prior art package printers stems from thefact that the shutter assemblies are disposed above the focal plane.Positioning the shutter above the focal plane is problematic in that itrequires a relatively large shutter opening and, therefore, a relativelylarge assembly to carry the shutter within the printer. The increasedmass of the shutter assembly translates into decreased speed ofoperation in that there is more mass to move back and forth toeffectuate a shutter operation. The increased mass of the shutterassembly also translates into increased settling time between shutteroperations, thereby adversely affecting the reliability and operatingspeed of the package printer. Still another problem with positioning theshutter assembly above the focal plane is that interference may resultbetween the shutter assembly and the lower lens assemblies within thelens deck.

Still another time limiting drawback with the package printers of theprior art pertains to the amount of energy consumed by the individualbulbs within the lamp house. To be more specific, the lamp housetypically requires combining red, yellow, and green light in specificfashion to ensure for the proper exposure of the photographic paper. Toaccomplish this, the manufacturers of the lamp houses typically providemultiple (3 or 4) separate white light bulbs with each bulb equippedwith a red, yellow, or green filter for creating the colored light.However, red is the predominant color required when creating theexposures on the photographic film and, as such, the underlying lightbulb associated with the red filter is typically operated at a higherpower than the light bulbs associated with the yellow and green filters.This presents a drawback in that each light bulb associated with a redfilter will burn out at a higher frequency than the light bulbs usedwith the yellow and green filters due to the relatively large amount ofpower consumed by the red filtered light bulb, thereby increasing theamount of system down time when the burned out bulbs must be replaced.

Still other drawbacks exist in the prior art package printers withrespect to print quality. First, the prior art package printerstypically do not provide sufficient cleaning means for minimizing theamount of lint, dust, and other airborne contaminants from the surfaceof the film. For example, a typical film cleaning arrangement entailsproviding a pair of sticky rollers on the upstream or supply side of thephotographic film in an effort to prepare the film for processing.However, such an arrangement is ineffective in eliminating all of thedust and related undesirables from the film so that the photographs maybe marred or flawed. In the instance that such dust particles results onthe film, it could translate into the ruination of an entire sittingwhich, as can be appreciated, results in lost profits due towastefulness. At the very least, it will require manual touching upwhich, once again, adds to the overall time to create the photographswithin each requested package.

Drawbacks also exist in the prior art package printers with regard totheir ability to clean the diffusion plates used to equalize the lightfrom the lamp house. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,066 to Ozawa etal. discloses a diffusion plate for diffusing and equalizing the lightpassing through the filter assembly of the light source wherein thediffusion plate must be cleaned manually between a predetermined numberof sittings. This is flawed in that lint, dust, and other similarparticles may come to rest on the diffusion plates such that spottedimperfections form on all the photographs being processed. This can beparticularly damaging if the “floaters” are not discovered until afterthe processing of the exposed paper such that a large portion of theexposures must be repeated, consuming a substantial amount of systemdown time and resulting in large amounts of scrap and waste.

Yet another flaw in print quality resides in the masking used to cropthe image bearing light beam to produce sharply delineated borders. U.S.Pat. No. 5,181,066 to Ozawa et al. discloses a variable mask including alength adjusting mask for adjusting the length of the exposure frameaccording to the print size, and a width adjusting mask for adjustingthe width of the exposure frame according to the paper size and anyborder required in the print to be made. U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,141 toYoshikawa also discloses a variable mask in an exposure room which masksthe photographic paper in accordance with the particular print size. Insimilar fashion, U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,583 to Kitai discloses a trimmingmask frame provided in conjunction with a press pan. However, thesearrangements are incapable of adequately cropping the image bearinglight beam to produce a well defined print border.

In light of the foregoing, therefore, a need exists for an improved highspeed package printer which is capable of loading the photographic paperin an automatic fashion such that the paper will not be subject tobuckling or become fouled in the paper transportation path. The improvedhigh speed package printer should be capable of dynamically measuringthe paper slack loops to ensure for the smooth and efficient operationof the paper drive motors. A need also exists for eliminating the needto advance the paper after each exposure to punch the paper at theleading edge of each exposure. The improved high speed package printershould also allow 10″×13″ photographs to be taken without the need for arotating turret and should be capable of generating 12 wallet sizedphotographs and a single 5″×7″ photograph with a single exposure. Theimproved package printer should furthermore be capable of producingfolio photographs comprising four different 4″×5″ photographic images,as well as automatically removing all dust particles and “floaters” fromthe diffusion plate so as to improve print quality. The improved highspeed package printer should also be equipped with an improved lamphouse filtering arrangement which reduces the degree to which the lightbulbs associated with the red filter burn out so as to minimize systemdown time. The improved high speed package printer should also have animproved film cleaning arrangement for minimizing the amount of dust andrelated which are able to settle on the film, thereby reducing theamount of scrap and the amount of manual touching up required to salvagethe marred photographs. The package printer should furthermore have animproved negative cropping arrangement for producing a sharplydelineated print border. Lastly, the improved high speed package printershould have bi-directional film movement so as to increase the range ofpossibilities with respect to the various photographs included within aparticular composite photograph.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providean improved package printer which is capable of operating at high speed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedhigh speed package printer which is capable of loading the photographicpaper in an automatic fashion without having the paper buckle or becomefouled up during loading.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improvedhigh speed package printer capable of dynamically measuring the paperslack loops so that the paper drive motors can quickly and efficiencyadvance the paper within the paper deck.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedpackage printer which does not require the paper to be advanced aftereach exposure to punch the paper at the leading edge of each exposure.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide animproved high speed package printer having the ability to produce10″×13″ photographs without the need for a rotating turret and theability to produce 12 wallet sized photographs and a single 5″×7″photograph with a single exposure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedpackage printer capable of producing folio photographs comprising fourdifferent 4″×5″ photographic images.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improvedpackage printer which is capable of automatically removing all dustparticles and “floaters” from the diffusion plate, thereby reducing theneed to repeat tainted sittings and reducing the overall amount of scrapand waste.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedhigh speed package printer with an improved lamp house filteringarrangement for equalizing the power at which each light bulb isoperated at so as to cause each bulb to burn out at approximately thesame time, thereby allowing all the bulbs to be changed at the same timeso as to minimize system down time.

It is still further object of the present invention to provide animproved film cleaning arrangement for minimizing the amount of dust andrelated which are able to settle on the film, thereby reducing theamount of scrap and the amount of manual touch-up required to salvagephotographs marred by such impurities.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide animproved package printer having an improved negative croppingarrangement for producing a sharply delineated print border.

It is still further object of the present invention to provide animproved package printer having an improved shutter assembly which isbelow the focal plane so as to decrease the size of the shutter assemblyand increase shutter speed and system reliability.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improvedhigh speed package printer having bi-directional film movement so as toincrease the range of possibilities with respect to the variousphotographs included within a particular composite photograph.

In accordance with a broad aspect of the present invention, theforegoing objectives are attained by providing an improved photographicpackage printer, comprising a paper deck, a film assembly, lightprojection means, and a lens deck. The paper deck has a supply ofphotographic paper, an exposure aperture, and means for selectivelypositioning unexposed portions of the photographic paper over theexposure aperture. The film assembly has a supply of photographic film,a negative aperture, and bi-directional film transportation means forselectively positioning one of a plurality of film negatives within thenegative aperture. The light projection means is disposed proximate tothe film assembly for selectively projecting light through the filmnegative disposed within the negative aperture to produce image-bearinglight projecting toward the exposure aperture of the paper deck. Thelens deck is disposed in between the paper deck and the film assembly.The lens deck includes a plurality of selectively positionableprojection assemblies for magnifying the image-bearing light andprojecting magnified image-bearing light onto the photographic paperwithin the exposure aperture. The lens deck also includes selectivelypositionable masking means for selectively blocking out portions of themagnified image-bearing light. The plurality of selectively positionableprojection assemblies include optical rotation means for opticallyrotating the image-bearing light ninety degrees to project a 10″×13″photographic image on the paper within the exposure aperture.

In accordance with a still further broad aspect of the presentinvention, the aforementioned objects are attained by providing a highspeed photographic package printer, comprising a paper supply cartridge,a printing assembly, and a paper take-up cartridge. The paper supplycartridge has a supply of unexposed photographic paper. The printingassembly has a paper deck, a film deck, a lamp deck, and a lens deck.The paper deck is coupled to the paper supply cartridge for selectivelypositioning portions of the unexposed photographic paper within anexposure aperture. The film deck includes a plurality of photographicnegatives and bi-directional film transportation means for selectivelypositioning one of the plurality of photographic negatives within anegative aperture. The lamp deck is disposed proximate the film deck forselectively projecting light through the negative aperture to produceimage-bearing light projecting toward an approximate center of theexposure aperture. The lens deck is disposed between the film deck andthe paper deck and has selectively positionable projection means forprojecting magnified image-bearing light onto the unexposed photographicpaper within the exposure aperture in an off-center fashion relative tothe negative aperture and selectively positionable masking means forblocking out selected portions of the magnified image-bearing light. Thepaper take-up cartridge is coupled to the paper deck of the printingassembly for receiving exposed photographic paper from the exposureaperture. The off-center printing facilitates marking the photographicpaper within the exposure aperture during exposure by the magnifiedimage-bearing light and the bi-directional film transportation meanscooperates with the selectively positionable masking means to producecomposite photographs based on a plurality of different negatives.

In yet another broad aspect of the present invention, a method is setforth for providing a photographic package printer, comprising the stepsof: (a) providing an improved paper deck having paper transportationmeans for selectively transporting photographic paper over an exposureaperture, means for automatically loading the photographic paper, andmeans for dynamically measuring a length of paper slack loops formedwithin the paper deck to facilitate advancing the paper; (b) providingan improved film deck having a supply of photographic film,bi-directional film transportation means for selectively transportingsaid photographic film back and forth over a negative aperture, and filmcleaning means for automatically removing impurities from the filmduring transportation by the bi-directional film transportation means;(c) providing an improved lamp deck proximate the film deck forprojecting light through the negative aperture to form image-bearinglight, the lamp deck including a plurality of lamp assembliescooperatively operable with a power supply and filter means forbalancing the light such that the power supply can power each of theplurality of lamp assemblies at approximately the same level; and (d)providing an improved lens deck disposed between the film deck and thepaper deck having a plurality of projection assemblies for selectivelymagnifying the image-bearing light to produce magnified image-bearinglight which projects off-center from the negative aperture onto thephotographic paper within the exposure aperture of the paper deck,masking means for selectively blocking out portions of the magnifiedimage-bearing light, and motor means for selectively positioning themasking means and the plurality of projection assemblies to producephotographic packages including composite prints and 10″×13″ prints.

In accordance with yet another broad aspect of the present invention, animproved paper deck is provided within a photographic package printer,comprising an exposure aperture, means for transporting photographicpaper to and from the exposure aperture, and means for automaticallyloading the photographic paper within the paper deck. The means forautomatically loading includes first means for selectively maintainingthe photographic paper in a substantially straight paper path duringtransportation to and from the exposure aperture and second means forselectively maintaining the photographic paper in a substantiallystraight paper path during transportation over the exposure aperture.The first means for selectively maintaining includes upper paper guidemeans for guiding an upper surface of the photographic paper duringtransportation to and from the exposure aperture and lower paper guidemeans for selectively guiding a lower surface of the photographic paperduring transportation to and from the exposure aperture. The secondmeans for selectively maintaining includes upper paper guide means forguiding the upper surface of the photographic paper duringtransportation over the exposure aperture and lower paper guide meansfor selectively guiding the lower surface of the photographic paperduring transportation over the exposure aperture.

In accordance with another broad aspect of the present invention, anapparatus is provided for improving the print quality of a photographicprinter comprising diffusion means for equalizing light emitted from alight source, and means for automatically cleaning the diffusion meansso as to periodically remove dust and other unwanted particles from thediffusion means.

In still another broad aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for automatically cleaning a diffusion plate of a photographicprinter, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a brush member inassociation with the diffusion plate; and (b) selectively engaging thebrush member and the diffusion plate so as to remove dust and otherunwanted particles from the diffusion plate.

In accordance with yet another broad aspect of the present invention, asystem is provided for improving the print quality of a photographicpackage printer, wherein the printer has a supply of photographic filmand means for selectively advancing the photographic film over a lightsource. The system includes an electrostatic charging means provided forapplying an electrostatic charge to the film, brush means for brushing asurface of the film, and vacuum means for creating an air suction forceaway from a surface of the film. The electrostatic charging meanscooperates with the brush means and the vacuum means to remove dust andother particles from the film during the advancement of the film to thelight source.

In accordance with a still further broad aspect of the presentinvention, a film cleaning assembly is provided for use in aphotographic package printer. The film cleaning assembly comprisesvacuum means for creating an air current which draws dust and relatedimpurities away from the photographic film within the photographicpackage printer during transportation to a light source, electrostaticcharging means for applying an electrostatic charge to the photographicfilm, and brush means disposed in between the electrostatic chargingmeans and the light source for removing dust and related impurities fromthe photographic film during transportation to the light source.

In accordance with yet anther broad aspect of the present invention, amethod is disclosed for automatically cleaning a supply of photographicfilm during transportation within a photographic printer, comprising:(a) applying an electrostatic charge to the film during transportationto repel dust and other foreign impurities from top and bottom surfacesof the film; (b) brushing the photographic film during transportation toremove the dust and other foreign impurities therefrom; and (c)vacuuming the dust and other foreign impurities from the film duringtransportation.

In another important aspect of the present invention, an apparatus isprovided for selectively cropping light passing through a photographicnegative in a photographic printer, wherein the apparatus comprisesmeans for selectively positioning one of a plurality of negativecropping apertures within the light projecting between a photographiclight source and the photographic negative.

In yet a further broad aspect of the present invention, a system isprovided for selectively forming light passing from a photographic lightsource to a photographic negative in a photographic printer. The systemincludes cropping means having a plurality of apertures formed therein.The cropping means are slidably disposed between the photographic lightsource and the photographic negative. Also provided are translationmeans coupled to the cropping means for selectively translating thecropping means within the light passing from the photographic lightsource to the photographic negative. The translation means can beselectively operated to position one of the plurality of apertures ofthe cropping means within the light passing from the photographic lightsource to the photographic negative to produce a photograph having apredetermined border configuration.

In yet another important aspect of the present invention, a method isprovided for selectively cropping light within a photographic printer toprovide photographs having a plurality of different borderconfigurations, comprising the steps of: (a) providing cropping meanshaving a plurality of apertures formed therein; (b) positioning thecropping means in between a photographic light source and a photographicnegative within the photographic printer; and (c) selectivelytranslating the cropping means so as to position one of the plurality ofapertures within light projecting from the photographic light source tothe photographic negative.

In still a further broad aspect of the present invention, an apparatusis provided for optically rotating image-bearing light within aphotographic printer approximately ninety degrees for projection ontophotographic paper. The apparatus comprises first prism means, secondprism means, third prism means, and magnification means. The first prismmeans is positioned to receive the image-bearing light from aphotographic negative, the second prism means is positioned to receivethe image-bearing light from the first prism means, and the third prismmeans is positioned to receive the image-bearing light from the secondprism means. The first, second, and third prism means cooperate tooptically rotate the image-bearing light approximately ninety degreeswhile maintaining the proper orientation of the image-bearing light asit projects upwardly from the photographic negative. The magnificationmeans are provided for magnifying the rotated image-bearing light fromthe first, second, and third prism means to produce a photographic imageon the photographic paper having a predetermined size.

In yet another important aspect of the present invention, a rotationalprism assembly is provided for use in a photographic printer comprisinga first prism member, a second prism member, and a third prism member.The first prism member has a light inlet surface, a light outlet surfacedisposed generally perpendicular to the light inlet surface, and anangular surface extending between the light inlet surface and the lightoutlet surface. The second prism member has a light inlet surfacedisposed generally parallel to the light outlet surface of the firstprism member, a light outlet surface disposed generally perpendicular tothe light inlet surface of the second prism member, and an angularsurface extending between the light inlet and light outlet surfaces ofthe second prism member. The third prism member has a light inletsurface disposed generally parallel to the light outlet surface of thesecond prism member, a light outlet surface disposed generallyperpendicular to the light inlet surface of the third prism member, andan angular surface extending between the light inlet and light outletsurfaces of the third prism member. The first, second, and third prismmembers cooperate to optically rotate image-bearing light projectingfrom a photographic negative approximately ninety degrees so as toproduce a photographic image on photographic paper which is rotatedapproximately ninety degrees from the photographic negative while in thesame orientation of as on the photographic negative.

In another broad aspect of the present invention, a method is providedfor optically rotating image-bearing light within a photographicprinter, comprising the steps of: (a) providing first prism means,second prism means, and third prism means for optically rotating theimage-bearing light from a photographic negative approximately ninetydegrees; (b) providing magnification means associated with the first,second, and third prism means for magnifying the image-bearing light toproduce a photographic image on photographic paper having apredetermined size; and (c) positioning the first prism means withinsaid image-bearing light such that the first prism means cooperates withthe second and third prism means to optically rotate the image-bearinglight approximately ninety degrees prior to projection on thephotographic paper.

In still a further important aspect of the present invention, animproved lens assembly is provided for use in a photographic printer.The lens assembly comprises a first plurality of lenses, a secondplurality of lenses, lens means, and transportation means. The firstplurality of lenses are provided for producing wallet sized photographicimages on photographic paper within an exposure aperture of thephotographic printer. The second plurality of lenses are provided forproducing sub-wallet sized photographic images of the photographic paperwithin the exposure aperture of the photographic printer. The lens meansis provided for producing a photographic image approximately 5″×7″ insize on the photographic paper within the exposure aperture of thephotographic printer. The transportation means is provided forselectively transporting the first and second plurality of lenses andthe lens means within the photographic printer. The transportation meanscan be selectively employed to position the first and second pluralityof lenses and the lens means within image-bearing light projecting froma photographic negative to produce a plurality of wallet sizedphotographic images, a plurality of sub-wallet sized photographicimages, and a 5″×7″ photographic image on the photographic paper withinthe exposure aperture of the photographic printer with a single exposureof the photographic negative.

In still a further broad aspect of the present invention, in aphotographic package printer, an improved lens assembly is providedcomprising a 5″×7″ lens assembly, a plurality of wallet lenses, aplurality of sub-wallet lenses, and selectively positionable supportmeans. The plurality of wallet lenses are disposed adjacent to the 5″×7″lens assembly. The plurality of sub-wallet lenses are disposed adjacentto the 5″×7″ lens assembly. The selectively positionable support meansare provided for selectively positioning the 5″×7″ lens assembly, theplurality of wallet lenses, and the plurality of sub-wallet lenseswithin image-bearing light projecting from a photographic negative toproduce a 5″×7″ photograph, a plurality of wallet sized photographs, anda plurality of sub-wallet sized photographs with a single exposure ofthe photographic negative.

In yet another broad aspect of the present invention, a system isprovided for producing composite photographs within a photographicpackage printer. The system comprises composite lens means, means forselectively positioning the composite lens means, selectivelypositionable masking means, and bi-directional film transportationmeans. The composite lens means is provided for magnifying image-bearinglight from a photographic negative to produce a plurality of magnifiedimage-bearing light beams projecting toward photographic paper within anexposure aperture. The means for selectively positioning is provided forselectively positioning the composite lens means within theimage-bearing light to produce the plurality of magnified image-bearinglight beams. The selectively positionable masking means are disposedbetween the composite lens means and the photographic paper within theexposure aperture for selectively blocking out at least one of theplurality of magnified image-bearing light beams extending from thecomposite lens means. The bi-directional film transportation means areprovided for selectively positioning one of a plurality of photographicnegatives within a negative aperture to produce the image-bearing light.The bi-directional film transportation means cooperates with the maskingmeans and the composite lens means to produce a composite photograph onthe photographic paper within the exposure aperture comprising aplurality of individual photographic images where at least two of theplurality of individual photographic images are based on differentphotographic negatives.

In still another broad aspect of the present invention, a system isprovided for equalizing the operation level of each of a plurality ofadditive light bulbs within a photographic lamphouse. The systemcomprises filtering means associated with each of the plurality ofadditive light bulbs for balancing the color of the light being emittedfrom each of the plurality of additive light bulbs such that each of theplurality of additive light bulbs may be powered at the same approximatelevel.

These and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbe readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment inconjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a high speed package printer 10 of the presentinvention with the covers removed to display the working parts;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the paper deck 46 during normaloperation;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the paper deck 46 as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of the paper deck 46 illustrating anautomatic paper loading feature of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the paper deck 46 as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view illustrating the light-tight coupling betweenthe paper deck 46 and the paper take-up cartridge 14;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of the film deck 48 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the film deck 48 as shown in FIG. 7;

FIGS. 9A is an enlarged side view of the automatic film cleaningassembly 182 of the present invention;

FIG. 9B is an end view of the automatic film cleaning assembly 182 asshown in FIG. 9A;

FIG. 9C is a top view of the automatic film cleaning assembly 182 asshown in 9A;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of the improved negative croppingassembly 268 of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a top view of the improved negative cropping assembly 268 asshown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged top view of the diffusion plate cleaning assembly284 of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention duringnormal operation;

FIG. 13 is an enlarge top view of the diffusion plate cleaning assembly284 shown in FIG. 12 during a cleaning operation;

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of the diffusion plate cleaningassembly 284 shown in FIG. 12 taken along lines 14—14;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged top view of a diffusion plate cleaning assembly284′ of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention duringnormal operation;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged top view of the diffusion plate cleaning assembly284′ shown in FIG. 15 following a cleaning operation;

FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of the diffusion plate cleaningassembly 284′ shown in FIG. 15 taken along lines 17—17;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged side view of the lens deck 52 provided inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19A is a top elevational view of a first projection assembly 314within the lens deck 52 having a rotational prism assembly 356 forproducing 10″×13″ photographs and a lens unit 358 for producing 8″×10″photographs;

FIG. 19B is a side view of the first projection assembly 314 shown inFIG. 19A;

FIG. 19C is a front view of the first projection assembly 314 shown inFIG. 19A;

FIG. 19D is a cross-sectional view of the rotational prism assembly 356taken along lines 19D—19D in FIG. 19B;

FIG. 19E is a cross-sectional view of the rotational prism assembly 356taken along lines 19E—19E in FIG. 19D;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the various prism assemblies and lensassemblies within the rotational prism assembly 356 shown generally inFIGS. 19A-19E;

FIG. 21A is a top elevational view of a second projection assembly 316within the lens deck 52 including a quint lens assembly 432 forproducing composite photographs having five different photographicimages and a quad lens assembly 434 for producing composite photographshaving four different photographic images;

FIG. 21B is a side view of the second projection assembly 316 shown inFIG. 21A;

FIG. 22A is a top elevational view of a third projection assembly 318within the lens deck 52 having a 13UP lens assembly 514 for generating a5″×7″ photograph, nine wallet size photographs, and three sub-walletsize photographs with the exposure of a single negative;

FIG. 22B is a side elevational view of the third projection assembly 318shown in FIG. 22A;

FIG. 22C is a front elevational view of the third projection assembly318 shown in FIG. 22A;

FIG. 23 is a side view of the various lens members disposed within thelens module 534 shown in FIGS. 22A-22C for producing 5″×7″ photographs;

FIG. 24A is a top elevational view of the fourth projection assembly 320within the lens deck 52 having an 18UP lens assembly 600 for generatingeighteen individual photographs with the exposure of a single negative;

FIG. 24B is a side elevational view of the fourth projection assembly320 shown in FIG. 24A;

FIG. 25A is a top elevational view of a fifth projection assembly 322within the lens deck 52 having charm lens assembly 628 for producingthree identically sized charm photographs with the exposure of a singlenegative;

FIG. 25B is a side elevational view of the fifth projection assembly 322shown in FIG. 25A.

FIG. 26A is a perspective view of the lamphouse 51 shown generally inFIG. 1 illustrating an improved filtering arrangement in accordance withone aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 26B is a top view of the lamphouse 51 shown in FIG. 26A;

FIG. 26C is a cross-sectional view of the lamphouse 51 taken along lines26C—26C in FIG. 26B;

FIG. 26D is a cross-sectional view of the lamphouse 51 taken along lines26D—26D in FIG. 26B;

FIG. 27 is a side view of the high speed package printer 10 in operationwhile generating a 10″×13″ photograph 714 via optical rotation;

FIG. 28 is a side view of the high speed package printer 10 in operationwhile generating an 8″×10″ photograph 718;

FIG. 29 is a side view of the high speed package printer 10 in operationwhile generating a composite photograph 720 comprising five individualphotographic images;

FIG. 30 is a side view of the high speed package printer 10 in operationwhile generating a folio-style photograph 732 comprising four individualphotographic images; and

FIG. 31 is a side view of the high speed package printer 10 in operationwhile generating a 13UP photograph 742 comprising nine wallet sizedphotographic images, three sub-wallet sized photographic images, and asingle 5″×7″ photographic image.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a high speed package printer 10 constructed inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention with thefront covers removed to display the working parts. The improved packageprinter 10 includes a paper supply cartridge 12, a paper take-upcartridge 14, and a high speed printing assembly 16 disposedtherebetween. The paper supply cartridge 12 comprises a housing member18 having a motor-driven supply spool 20 with a length of unexposedphotographic paper 22 wound thereon, a first roller 24 for directing thepaper 22 up to the top of supply cartridge 12, and a second roller 26for directing the paper 22 outwardly toward the printing assembly 16.The paper 22 is approximately 10 inches wide and the supply spool 20 iscapable of holding a length of up to 4,000 feet thereof. The papertake-up cartridge 14 comprises a housing member 28 having a motor-driventake-up spool 30 for receiving approximately 500 feet of paper 22 afterit has been exposed within the printing assembly 16. As will bediscussed in detail below, the paper supply cartridge 12 and the papertake-up cartridge 14 are detachably mounted to the printing assembly 16in light-tight fashion such that the paper passing within the printingassembly 16 and, moreover, such that ambient light cannot invade theinterior of either cartridge when disconnected from the printingassembly 16. Structurally, the printing assembly 16 includes a rigidhousing having a top wall member 32, a bottom wall member 34, first sidewall 36, a second side wall 38, a rear wall 40, an upper partition 42,and a lower partition 44. In terms of function, the printing assembly 16includes a paper deck 46 disposed between the paper supply cartridge 12and the paper take-up cartridge 14 containing various components forcontrolling the transportation and exposure of the paper 22 duringoperation, a film deck 48 disposed proximate the lower partition 44 forcontrolling the transportation and positioning of photographic film, alamp deck 50 having a lamphouse 51 for passing light upward through thefilm deck 48 so as to produce image bearing light, and a lens deck 52disposed between the film deck 48 and the paper deck 46 having aplurality of selectively positionable lenses for magnifying the imagebearing light as it passes from the film deck 48 to the paper deck 46.

By way of overview, the paper deck 46 includes an improved exposureassembly for accurately maintaining the paper 22 in a predeterminedprojection plane to ensure proper focus, an improved paper-slack loopsensing arrangement for providing high speed paper advancing between thesupply cartridge 12 and the take-up cartridge 14, and an improved paperloading feature for automatically feeding photographic paper 22 from thesupply cartridge 12 to the take-up cartridge 14 at start-up. Theimprovements within the lens deck 52 include a rotational prism forgenerating 10″×13″ photographs without physically rotating the film,off-center printing for allowing the paper 22 to be punched during theexposure period to decrease paper waste and decrease the amount of timebetween exposures, penumbra masking for producing photographs withsharply defined borders, composite masking for producing compositephotographs comprising a plurality of different photographic images, anda 5″×7″ retro-focus lens for producing a 13UP photograph comprising 9wallet-size photographs, 3 sub-wallet size photographs, and a single5″×7″ photograph with a single exposure. The film deck 48 boasts aself-cleaning diffusion plate arrangement for automatically cleaning thediffusion plate after each sitting, an improved film cleaning assemblyfor ensuring that all potential contaminants are removed from the filmprior to exposure, and a plurality of selectively positionable croppermasks disposed between the film and the diffusion plate for definingsharp borders on the image bearing-light which progresses upwardly fromthe film deck 48. The lamphouse 51 of the lamp deck 50 has an improveddichroic filtering arrangement for equalizing the level at which each ofthe additive light bulbs are powered such that all the light bulbs willhave a substantially equal life and can therefore be replaced at thesame time.

Paper Deck

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the paper deck 46 is shown during thenormal operating mode with the paper 22 forming a first paper slack loop54 and a second paper slack loop 56. The paper deck 46 includes a firstpaper drive unit 58, an exposure assembly 60, a second paper drive unit62, a third paper drive unit 64, first and second ultrasonic proximitysensors 66, 68, first and second upper paper guide members 70, 72, andselectively actuable first and second bridge members 74, 76. The firstpaper slack loop 54 is formed between the first paper drive unit 58 andone end of the exposure assembly 60, while the second paper slack loop56 is formed between the second paper drive unit 62 and the third paperdrive unit 64. The first paper drive unit 58 is disposed along the firstside wall 36 and includes a wall mount 78, an outer covering 80 whichencloses a driver roller 82, a pinch roller 84, and opposed paper feedmembers 86, 88 which direct inwardly traveling paper between the pinchroller 84 and the drive roller 82. A motor 90 is provided to selectivelyrotate the drive roller 82 to advance paper inwardly toward the exposureassembly 60. The third paper drive unit 64 is constructed in much thesame fashion as the first paper drive unit 58 so as to prohibit ambientlight from penetrating into the interior of the paper deck 46 duringoperation. The third paper drive unit 64 includes a wall mount 92 and acover member 94 which encloses a drive roller 96, an angled paper feedmember 98, and a cutting assembly 100 for automatically cutting thepaper 22 when the paper take-up cartridge 14 is to be detached and sentout for processing with the exposed paper 22 disposed therewithin. Thisautomatic paper cutting feature is advantageous in that it eliminatesthe need to open up the paper deck 46 and/or the paper take-up cartridge14 to manually cut the paper 22, thereby reducing any unwanted exposureto ambient light.

The exposure assembly 60 includes first and second side walls 102, 104which extend vertically from the upper partition 92 and horizontallyfrom the back wall member 40, a lower guide plate 106 fixedly attachedto the upper edge of the first and second side walls 102, 104, and anupper guide plate 108 disposed in juxtaposed and spaced relationshipwith the lower guide plate 106 so as to define a paper paththerebetween. The lower guide plate 106 has a curved first edge facingthe first paper drive unit 58, an angled second edge facing the secondpaper drive unit 62, and an exposure aperture 110 within which anunexposed length of photographic paper 22 is positioned to receiveimage-bearing light from the lens deck 52 for the purposes of generatingphotographs. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, theexposure aperture 110 is approximately 13 inches in length and 10 incheswide. A hinged mask member 112 is provided in association with a firstactuating cylinder 113 for selectively reducing the length of theexposure aperture 110 during operation. A door member 114 is provided inassociation with a second actuating cylinder 115 to selectively closeoff the exposure aperture 110 for facilitating the improved paperloading feature of the present invention. The exposure assembly 60 alsoincludes a vacuum platen 116 disposed over the exposure aperture 110 ofthe lower guide plate 106 for drawing the paper 22 into flush positionagainst the upper guide plate 108 during each exposure period so as tomaintain the paper 22 in a consistent projection plane. This isparticularly advantageous in that it causes the paper 22 to lieabsolutely flat against the upper guide plate 108 so as to eliminate anybends or kinks in the paper 22 which can cause the resulting photographsto be out of focus. To accomplish this suction force, the upper guideplate 108 is provided with a plurality of air holes and the vacuumplaten 116 is connected to a vacuum pump 118 via a hose member 120.

The vacuum platen 116 also includes a pair of apertures (not shown)through which a first and a second paper punching actuator 122, 124 maybe selectively operated to create notches along the either side of thepaper 22 proximate the leading edge 126 of the exposure aperture 110.More specifically, the first paper punching actuator 122 punches a notchalong one side of the paper 22 for the purpose of marking the end ofeach exposure, while the second paper punching actuator 124 punches anotch along the opposite side of the paper 22 for the purpose of markingthe end of each photographic session. As will be discussed in greaterdetail below, the lens assemblies of the lens deck 52 provide foroff-center printing such that the first and second hole punchingactuators 122, 124 can perform the desired marking while the paper 22 isbeing exposed by the image bearing light from the lens deck 52. This isadvantageous over the prior art package printers which print on-centerwith the negative in that such on-center printing systems require aseparate advancing step after each exposure in order to position theedge of the photograph with the hole punching actuators which arelocated at the leading edge of the exposure aperture. By performing themarking and the exposures simultaneously, the present invention is ableto eliminate the extra advancing step found in the prior art so as todecrease the amount of time between each exposure, thereby increasingthe overall speed of the improved printer 10.

The second paper drive unit 62 is the primary driving force whenadvancing an unexposed portion of the paper 22 into position above theexposure aperture 110 of the exposure assembly 60. The second paperdrive unit 62 includes a drive roller 128, an optically encoded pinchroller 130, and a motor 132 for rotating the drive roller 128. In orderto maximize the speed at which the paper 22 may be advanced within thepaper deck 46, the second paper drive unit 62 is communicatively linkedwith the vacuum pump 118 so as to turn off the suction force to thevacuum platen 116 in between exposures such that the paper 22 may beadvanced without any hindrance from the vacuum platen 116. Moreover, inan important aspect of the present invention, the speed of the paperadvance is sharply increased by employing the first and secondultrasonic proximity sensors 66, 68 to form the first and second paperslack loops 54, 56, respectively. As noted above, the first and secondpaper slack loops 54, 56 each serve as a buffer or reservoir of paper 22such that the exposed paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110 may bequickly advanced and replaced with a fresh, unexposed portion of paper22 without being limited by the speed at which the paper supply spool 20within the paper supply cartridge 12 can pay out the paper 22. In thatthe exposure aperture 110 is approximately 13 inches in length, thefirst and second paper slack loops 54, 56 must be maintained atapproximately 13 inches so as to rapidly replace the exposedphotographic paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110 with a fresh andunexposed portion of paper 22 to prepare for the next set of exposures.To accomplish this, the first proximity sensor 66 is positioned mid-waybetween the first paper drive unit 58 and the curved first edge of thelower guide plate 106 so as to direct an ultrasonic beam 134 downwardthrough an aperture 136 formed in the first upper paper guide member 70and into the first paper slack loop 54, while the second proximitysensor 68 is positioned in between the second paper drive unit 62 andthe third paper drive unit 64 so as to direct an ultrasonic beam 138through an aperture 140 formed within the second upper paper guidemember 72 and into the second paper slack loop 56. In this arrangement,the improved high speed package printer 10 of the present invention iscapable of advancing the paper 22 the required distance of 13 inches inapproximately 0.25 seconds.

In addition to providing high speed paper advancing, the first andsecond ultrasonic proximity sensors 66, 68 also decrease the amount oftime required to reform the paper slack loops 54, 56 following eachadvance, thereby allowing a greater number of paper advances to beperformed within a given period of time. More specifically, the abilityto quickly reform the first and second paper slack loops 54, 56 stemsfrom the fact that the first and second proximity sensors 66, 68dynamically measure the length of the respective paper slack loops 54,56. The first proximity sensor 66 is communicatively linked to the drivemotor 90 of the first paper drive unit 58 in a feedback arrangement suchthat the speed of the drive roller 82 will be increased or decreaseddynamically depending on the actual length of the first paper slack loop54 so as to quickly return the first paper slack loop 54 to a length ofapproximately 13 inches. In similar fashion, the second proximity sensor68 is connected to a motor 142 of the third paper drive unit 64 in afeedback arrangement such that the speed of the drive roller 96 will bedynamically changed depending on the contemporaneous paper slack looplength measured during the paper advancing stage so as to quickly reformthe second paper slack loop 56 having a length of 13 inches. Bydynamically measuring the paper slack loops with ultrasonic sound waves,the first and second proximity sensors 66, 68 of the present inventionare much more responsive than the various paper slack loop sensingarrangements discussed supra and are therefore capable of increasing theoverall speed of the improved high speed printer 10 of the presentinvention.

With collective reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the automatic paper loadingfeature of the present invention will now be discussed. In general, theability to automatically load paper 22 into the paper deck 46 isaccomplished by providing a substantially continuous and straight paperpath which extends from a paper inlet port within the first paper driveunit 58 to a paper inlet port in the paper take-up cartridge 14 suchthat the paper 22 can be driven quickly into and through the paper deck46 without bunching up or fouling in the process. In order to createsuch a straight paper path, the first and second bridge members 74, 76,as well as the door member 114, are moved into the generally horizontalpositions shown. The selective positioning of the first and secondbridge members 74, 76 is accomplished through the use of a third and afourth actuating cylinder 144, 146, respectively, while the selectivepositioning of the door member 114 is accomplished via the secondactuating cylinder 115. In this arrangement, then, the paper 22 isinitially fed into and through the paper inlet port of the paper deck 46such that the leading edge of the paper 22 is guided by the opposingpaper feed members 86, 88 so as to arrive at the junction point betweenthe drive roller 82 and the pinch roller 84 of the first paper driveunit 58. Upon activation the drive roller 82 of the first paper driveunit 58 will force the paper 22 through the paper path formed betweenthe first upper paper guide member 70 and the first selectively actuablebridge member 74.

The first upper paper guide member 70 extends up to the approximate edgeof the upper guide plate 108 and the first bridge member 74 extends upto the first curved edge of the lower guide plate 106 such that thepaper continues to progress in an unimpeded fashion in the paper pathdefined between the upper and lower guide plates 108, 106. The doormember 114 has a raised portion having approximately the same dimensionsas the exposure aperture 110 so as to effectively fill in the exposureaperture 110 when the door member 114 is disposed in the horizontalposition shown, thereby eliminating any friction points where the paper22 can snag. The door member 114 may also be equipped with rib membershaving angled end portions so as to minimize the amount of contactbetween the paper 22 and the exposure assembly 60. In any event, thepaper 22, under the initial driving force of the motor 90 within thefirst paper drive unit 58, continues to the end of the paper pathdefined between upper and lower guide plates 108, 106 such that theleading edge of the paper 22 lodges between the drive roller 128 and thepinch roller 130 of the second paper drive unit 62. The motor 132 of thesecond paper drive unit 62 will thereafter add to the initial drivingforce provided by the motor 90 of the first paper drive unit 58 so as topropel the paper 22 through a paper path defined between the secondupper paper guide member 72 and the second bridge member 76 and intocontact with the drive roller 96 within the third paper drive unit 64.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view illustrating the connection between the paperdeck 46 and the paper take-up cartridge 14 shown generally in FIG. 1 tofurther explain the automatic paper loading feature of the presentinvention, as well as the light-tight junction between the paper take-upcartridge 14 and the printing assembly 16. As can be seen, the secondupper paper guide member 72 is connected to the outer edge of the covermember 94 and the second bridge member 76 extends up to the approximateedge of the paper guiding member 98 such that the paper 22 will simplyprogress into contact with the drive roller 96 of the third paper driveunit 64. This engagement will thereafter propel the paper 22 through thethird paper drive unit 64, the wall mount 92, the second side wall 38,and a first coupling member 150 before passing into and through a rollerassembly 152 within the take-up cartridge 14. A second coupling member154 is attached to the exterior surface of the housing member 28 of thetake-up cartridge 14 so as to mutually engage with the first couplingmember 150. The roller assembly 152 includes a cover member 156 having afirst roller 158, a second roller 160, a third roller 162, and an angledguide member 164. The angled guide member 164 serves to force theleading edge of the paper 22 into contact with the first roller 158. Thefirst roller 158 cooperates with the second and third rollers 160, 162to accept the paper 22 into the interior of the paper take-up cartridge14. The cover of the paper take-up cartridge 14 may thereafter be openedup so as to connect the paper 22 to the take-up spool 30. Followingthis, the cover is replaced so as to enclose the interior of the papertake-up cartridge 14 such that printing operations may ensue immediatelythereafter.

With continued reference to FIG. 6, as the printing operations areconducted within the printing assembly 16, the take-up spool 30 withinthe paper take-up cartridge 14 will eventually reach its capacity suchthat the exposed photographic paper 22 disposed therein must be sent outfor processing. In this instance, the automatic cutting feature of thepresent invention should be employed to a sever the paper 22 such thatthe paper take-up cartridge 14 may be detached from the printingassembly 16. To accomplish this, a rotating knife assembly 166 isprovided including a circular blade member 168, a blade containmentblock 170 extending between the second side wall 38 and the cover member94, a shaft member 172 extending between the circular blade member 168and a motor assembly 174. The motor assembly 174 includes a motor 176, ablock 178 having a shaft translation aperture 180, and a plurality ofgears and/or belts (not shown) for rotating the shaft member 172 andtranslating the shaft member 172 back and forth within the shafttranslation aperture 180. The blade containment block 170 and the shafttranslation aperture 180 are both sufficiently greater than the 10 inchwidth of the paper 22 such that the shaft member 172 may he translatedalong the entire length of the shaft translation aperture 180 whilerotating the circular blade member 168 to thereby severe the paper 22.As noted above, the roller assembly 152 of the paper take-up cartridge14 provides a light-tight seal such that it may be removed from theprinting assembly 16 without having ambient light infiltrate and damagethe exposed photographic paper 22 within the take-up cartridge 14. Therotating knife assembly 166 further assists in this regard by allowingthe paper 22 to be severed in an automatic fashion without the need toopen the paper deck 46 and/or the paper take-up cartridge 14, therebyensuring that the sensitive photographic paper 22 within the papertake-up cartridge 14 and the paper deck 46 are protected from ambientlight during transportation for developing. Furthermore, the automaticcutting feature is performed in quick fashion without the need formanual cutting by a worker which saves time and operating costs.

Film Deck

With reference now to FIGS. 7 and 8, illustrated in detail is the filmdeck 48 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. As noted above, the film deck 48 offers severalsignificant advantages over the prior art so as to increase the overallspeed of operation and print quality. Namely, the film deck 48 providesbi-directional film movement for producing composite prints, an improvedfilm cleaning arrangement for removing any impurities from the filmprior to exposure, an improved cropping arrangement in between adiffusion plate and the film for sharply defining the borders of theimage bearing light which progresses from the film deck 48 toward thelens deck 52, and a diffusion plate cleaning arrangement forautomatically cleaning the diffusion plate after a predetermined numberof exposures. The film deck 48 accomplishes these features by providinga film supply spool 184 disposed at the end of a first arm member 188, afilm take-up spool 186 disposed at the end of a second arm member 190, anegative holder assembly 192 disposed in between the first and secondarm members 188, 190, a film cleaning assembly 182 disposed along thefirst arm member 188, a negative cropping assembly (not shown) disposedwithin a cover member 202, a diffusion plate cleaning assembly (notshown) disposed within a cover member 204, and a bar code reader 194disposed proximate the negative holder 192. Each negative of the film196 contains bar code information which indicates what types ofphotographs the customer has ordered for that particular negative. Thebar code reader 194 scans the bar code information into amicroprocessor-based controller (not shown) which then controls thesystem so as to produce a custom-made package of preselectedphotographs.

The first arm member 188 includes a front support wall 210 and a rearsupport wall 212 disposed in parallel relationship and extendinglaterally away from the cover member 202. The second arm member 190 isconstructed in identical fashion as the first arm member 188, includinga front support wall 214 and a rear support wall 216. A pair ofbi-directional motors, namely a first motor 198 and second motor 200,are fixed to the rear support walls 212, 216, respectively, andcommunicatively linked to the microprocessor-based controller (notshown) for selectively driving the film 198 in the forward and reversedirections depending upon what types of photographs are desired. Thefirst motor 198 is coupled to the film supply spool 184 via a first belt222 and a second belt 224 which cooperate with a drive roller 218 totransfer the driving force of the first motor 198 to the supply spool184. The second motor 200 is coupled to the film take-up spool 186 via afirst belt 226 and a second belt 228 which cooperate with a drive roller230 to transfer the driving force of the second motor 200 to the take-upspool 186. A first sticky roller 206 and a second sticky roller 208 areprovided in between the film cleaning assembly 182 and the negativeholder 192 for removing dust and similar impurities from the top andbottom surfaces of the film 196, respectively, as the film 196 travelsin the forward direction, i.e. from the supply spool 184 to the take-upspool 186. In similar fashion, a third sticky roller 220 is provided inbetween the film take-up spool 186 and the negative holder assembly 192for removing impurities from the top surface of the film 196 as ittravels in the reverse direction, i.e. from the take-up spool 186 to thesupply spool 184.

The negative holder assembly 192 includes a fixed lower plate member 232having a projection aperture (not shown) formed therethrough, a moveableupper plate member 234 having a projection aperture 236 formedtherethrough, and a lever mechanism 238 for selectively maneuvering theupper plate member 234 into one of an open state and a closed state. Inthe open state, the lever mechanism 238 raises the upper plate member234 away from the lower plate member 232 such that the film 196 may befreely advanced or reversed until a predetermined negative is centeredover the projection aperture (not shown) of the lower plate member 232.Once this occurs, the lever mechanism 238 positions the upper platemember 234 in the closed state by lowering the upper plate member 234into flush contact with the lower plate member 232 so as to sandwich thepredetermined negative of the film 196 therebetween. This aligns theprojection apertures 236 of the upper and lower plate members 234, 232and maintains the predetermined negative in a fixed vertical positionsuch that the light from the lamp deck 50 can pass through thepredetermined negative within the film 196 to form image-bearing lightwhich thereafter projects upwards to the lens deck assembly 52. Once thepredetermined negative is no longer needed, the upper plate member 234is raised via the lever mechanism 238 such that the film 196 may beselectively advanced or reversed to place a new predetermined negativein position within the negative holder 192.

In an important aspect of the present invention, this bi-directionalfilm movement enables the package printer 10 to generate compositephotographs based on a plurality of individual photographic negatives.As will be described in greater detail below, this is accomplished byproviding a composite lens assembly having a plurality of differentlenses, selectively advancing and/or reversing the film 196 over thelamp house 50 to sequentially project a plurality of differentimage-bearing light beams upward to the composite lens assembly, andselectively masking the magnified image-bearing light produced by thecomposite lens assembly such that only one photographic image is createdon the paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110 for each negativeselected to form the composite photograph. This is a marked improvementover the prior art package printers in that it enables the packageprinter 10 to produce an entire photographic package, including bothcomposite and individual photographs, in immediate succession withoutthe need to employ a separate composite printer, thereby savingsubstantial amounts of processing time when composite photographs aredesired. Eliminating the need to transfer the film to a separatecomposite printer also reduces the risk of damaging the film and ensuresthat the composite photographs will share the same color balance as theindividual photographs, thereby increasing the overall print quality ofthe photographic package.

With reference to FIGS. 9A-9C, the automatic film cleaning assembly 182of the present invention includes an electrostatic charging device 240,an upper brush member 242, a lower brush member 244, a vacuum assembly245 and an air jet assembly 246 which collectively remove dust particlesand similar impurities from the film 196 so as to reduce the incidenceof blurring imperfections on the resulting photographic prints. In apreferred embodiment, a mounting assembly, indicated generally at 248,is provided to properly position the electrostatic charging device 240,the upper brush member 242, the lower brush member 244, the vacuumassembly 245, and the air jet assembly 246 relative to the film 196 toensure for the adequate removal of impurities from the film 196. Themounting assembly 248 includes a base portion 250, an upper vacuummember 252, and a lower vacuum member 254. The upper and lower vacuummembers 252, 254 extend perpendicularly from an outwardly facing surfaceof the base portion 250 and are disposed in spaced relation so as toallow the film 196 to pass therebetween.

The electrostatic charging device 240 is positioned in close proximityto the lower surface of the film 196 through the use of a brace member256 so as to apply an electrostatic charge to the film 196, as well asany dust and other impurities disposed on the top or bottom surface ofthe film 196. This serves to repel the dust and other unwantedimpurities away from the top and bottom surfaces of the film 196. Byestablishing such an electrostatically charged condition, the presentinvention advantageously “loosens” the unwanted impurities from the film196 such that they may be readily removed from the film 196 via theupper and lower brush members 242, 244, the vacuum assembly 245, orother dust-removing means such as an air jet assembly 246 or stickyrollers 206, 208, and 220. In a preferred embodiment, the electrostaticcharging device 240 is a model 4004707 produced by SIMCO. However, it isto be understood that any number of different types of electrostaticcharging devices may be employed in the aforementioned fashion withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, it is fullyanticipated that the electrostatic charging device 240 may be disposedproximate the bottom and/or top surface of the film 196 withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

The upper brush member 242 and lower brush member 244 are positioned onthe mounting assembly 248 such that their opposing ends collectivelysandwich and contact the top and bottom surfaces, respectively, of thefilm 196 as it passes through the cleaning assembly 182. The upper andlower brush members 242, 244 are detachably mounted to the upper andlower vacuum members 252, 254, respectively, via any number of readilyavailable attachment means, including but not limited to bolts, Velcro(TM), adhesives, or grooves formed within the upper and lower vacuummembers 252, 254 for slidably receiving the upper and lower brushmembers 242, 244, respectively. In a preferred embodiment, theindividual brush members 242, 244 comprise carbon filament brushes.However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number ofdifferent types of brushes may be employed in this fashion withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

In its broadest sense, the vacuum assembly 245 of the present inventioncomprises an upper vacuum member 252 and a lower vacuum member 254disposed in close proximity to the upper and lower surfaces of the film196, respectively, so as to exact a collective suction force which drawsdust and related impurities away from the film 196. In a preferredembodiment, the upper and lower vacuum members 252, 254 are hollow inconstruction and connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via an tubemember 261 leading to vacuum plenum 263 and outlet for the vacuum 265.The amount of suction force generated within the upper and lower vacuummembers 252, 254 may be controlled by selectively adjusting theoperating speed of the vacuum pump (not shown) and/or by selectivelyadjusting the position of the upper and lower vacuum members 252, 254relative to the film 196.

Air jet assembly 246 of the present invention comprises an upper air jettube 258 and a lower air jet tube 260 disposed in close proximity to theupper and lower surfaces of the film 196, respectively, so as to blow onthe film to loosen and remove dust and related impurities from the film196 and allowing an air stream to develop from the air jet apertures 257in air jet tubes 258, 260 to the vacuum members 252, 254 removing dust,dirt and other particles from the film 196 and sucking them up into thevacuum assembly 245. In a preferred embodiment, the upper and lower airjet tubes 258, 260 are hollow in construction and connected to acompressed air supply (not shown) via an L-shaped tube member 262. Morespecifically, the upper and lower air jet tubes 258, 260 each have aplurality of apertures 257 which face the upper and lower surface of thefilm 196, respectively, such that air will be blown onto the top andbottom surfaces of the film 196. In a preferred embodiment, the firstand second air jet tubes 258, 260 extend perpendicularly from tubemember brackets 264, 266 at fixed locations along the length thereof.The amount of blowing force generated within the upper and lower air jettubes 258, 260 may be controlled by valves (not shown) selectivelyadjusting the operating pressure of the air supply and/or by selectivelyadjusting the position of the upper and lower air jet tubes 258, 260relative to the film 196.

Taken collectively, then, the electrostatic charging device 240, theupper and lower brush members 242, 244, the vacuum assembly 245, and theair jet assembly 246, augment the film cleaning ability of the first,second, and third sticky rollers 206, 208, 220 such that the improvedfilm cleaning assembly 182 of the present invention greatly reduces theamount of dust and related impurities on the top and bottom surfaces ofthe film 196. This results in several significant advantages over theprior art technique of merely employing sticky rollers to remove theseunwanted impurities. First, by reducing the amount of dust and similarimpurities on the film 196, the film cleaning assembly 182 of thepresent invention lowers the frequency at which dust-relatedimperfections occur on the resulting photographic prints such that theneed to manually touch up the prints is practically eliminated. This isadvantageous in that it saves valuable processing time and improves theoverall print quality. The film cleaning assembly 182 of the presentinvention is also advantageous in that it performs its dust removingfunctions before the film reaches the first, second, and third stickyrollers 206, 208, 220, thereby decreasing the amount of dust and relatedarticles which will accrue on the first, second, and third stickyrollers 206, 208, 220 within a given period of time. This has theoverall effect of reducing the frequency at which these sticky rollersneed to be cleaned or replaced, thereby reducing the amount of systemdown time devoted to such cleaning or replacement activities.

With reference to FIGS. 9A-9C, the automatic film cleaning assembly 182of the present invention includes an electrostatic charging device 240,an upper brush member 242, a lower brush member 244, a vacuum assembly245, and an air jet assembly 246 which collectively remove dustparticles and similar impurities from the film 196 so as to reduce theincidence of blurring imperfections on the resulting photographicprints. In a preferred embodiment, a mounting assembly, indicatedgenerally at 248, is provided to properly position the electrostaticcharging device 240, the upper brush member 242, the lower brush member244, the vacuum assembly 245, and an air jet assembly 246 relative tothe film 196 to ensure for the adequate removal of impurities from thefilm 196. The mounting assembly 248 includes a base portion 250, anupper vacuum member 252, and a lower vacuum member 254. The upper andlower vacuum members 252, 254 extend perpendicularly from an outwardlyfacing surface of the base portion 250 and are disposed in spacedrelation so as to allow the film 196 to pass therebetween.

The electrostatic charging device 240 is positioned in close proximityto the lower surface of the film 196 through the use of a brace member256 so as to apply an electrostatic charge to the film 196, as well asany dust and other impurities disposed on the top or bottom surface ofthe film 196. This serves to repel the dust and other unwantedimpurities away from the top and bottom surfaces of the film 196. Byestablishing such an electrostatically charged condition, the presentinvention advantageously “loosens” the unwanted impurities from the film196 such that they may be readily removed from the film 196 via theupper and lower brush members 242, 244, the vacuum assembly 246, orother dust-removing means such as an air jet assembly or sticky rollers246 206, 208 and 220. In a preferred embodiment, the electrostaticcharging device 240 is a model 4004707 produced by SIMCO. However, it isto be understood that any number of different types of electrostaticcharging devices may be employed in the aforementioned fashion withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, it is fullyanticipated that the electrostatic charging device 240 may be disposedproximate the bottom and/or top surface of the film 196 withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

The upper brush member 242 and lower brush member 244 are positioned onthe mounting assembly 248 such that their opposing ends collectivelysandwich and contact the top and bottom surfaces, respectively, of thefilm 196 as it passes through the cleaning assembly 182. The upper andlower brush members 242, 244 are detachably mounted to the upper andlower vacuum members 252, 254, respectively, via any number of readilyavailable attachment means, including but not limited to bolts, Velcro(TM), adhesives, or grooves formed within the upper and lower vacuummembers 252, 254 for slidably receiving the upper and lower brushmembers 242, 244, respectively. In a preferred embodiment, theindividual brush members 242, 244 comprise carbon filament brushes.However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any number ofdifferent types of brushes may be employed in this fashion withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

In its broadest sense, the vacuum assembly 245 of the present inventioncomprises an upper vacuum member 250 and a lower vacuum member 254disposed in close proximity to the upper and lower surfaces of the film196, respectively, so as to exact a collective suction force which drawsdust and related impurities away from the film 196. In a preferredembodiment, the upper and lower vacuum members 252, 254 are hollow inconstruction and connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via an tubemember 261 leading to vacuum plenum 263 and outlet for the vacuum 265.The amount of suction force generated within the upper and lower vacuummembers 252, 254 may be controlled by selectively adjusting theoperating speed of the vacuum pump (not shown) and/or by selectivelyadjusting the position of the upper and lower vacuum members 252, 254relative to the film 196.

Air jet assembly 246 of the present invention comprises an upper air jettube 258 and a lower air jet tube 260 disposed in close proximity to theupper and lower surfaces of the film 196, respectively, so as to blow onthe film to loosen and remove dust and related impurities from the film196 and allowing an air stream to develop from the air jet apertures 257in air jet tubes 258, 260 to the vacuum members 252, 254 removing dust,dirt and other particles from the film 196 and sucking them up into thevacuum assembly 245. In a preferred embodiment, the upper and lower airjet tubes 258, 260 are hollow in construction and connected to acompressed air supply (not shown) via an L-shaped tube member 262. Morespecifically, the upper and lower air jet tubes 258, 260 each have aplurality of apertures 257 which face the upper and lower surface of thefilm 196, respectively, such that air will be blown onto the top andbottom surfaces of the film 196. In a preferred embodiment, the firstand second air jet tubes 258, 260 extend perpendicularly from tubemember brackets 264, 266 at fixed locations along the length thereof.The amount of blowing force generated within the upper and lower air jettubes 258, 260 may be controlled by valves (not shown) selectivelyadjusting the operating pressure of the air supply and/or by selectivelyadjusting the position of the upper and lower air jet tubes 258, 260relative to the film 196. Taken collectively, then, the electrostaticcharging device 240, the upper and lower brush members 242, 244, thevacuum assembly 246 245, and an air jet assembly 246 augment the filmcleaning ability of the first, second, and third sticky rollers 206,208, 220 such that the improved film cleaning assembly 182 of thepresent invention greatly reduces the amount of dust and relatedimpurities on the top and bottom surfaces of the film 196. This resultsin several significant advantages over the prior art technique of merelyemploying sticky rollers to remove these unwanted impurities. First, byreducing the amount of dust and similar impurities on the film 196, thefilm cleaning assembly 182 of the present invention lowers the frequencyat which dust-related imperfections occur on the resulting photographicprints such that the need to manually touch up the prints is practicallyeliminated. This is advantageous in that it saves valuable processingtime and improves the overall print quality. The film cleaning assembly182 of the present invention is also advantageous in that it performsits dust removing functions before the film reaches the first, second,and third sticky rollers 206, 208, 220, thereby decreasing the amount ofdust and related articles which will accrue on the first, second, andthird sticky rollers 206, 208, 220 within a given period of time. Thishas the overall effect of reducing the frequency at which these stickyrollers need to be cleaned or replaced, thereby reducing the amount ofsystem down time devoted to such cleaning or replacement activities.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate yet another important feature of the presentinvention, namely an improved negative cropping assembly 268 forselectively defining the borders of the image bearing light which passesupwardly from the film deck 48. The negative cropping assembly 268 isdisposed within the cover member 202 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and includesan elongated cropper member 270, an elongated gear engagement member 272extending along the underside of the cropper member 270, and a motor 274having a rotatable gear arm 276 extending therefrom. The cropper member270 is generally planar and includes a first cropping aperture 278having substantially rounded corner portions, a second cropping aperture280 having slightly rounded corner portions, and a third croppingaperture 282 having square corner portions. In an important aspect ofthe present invention, the cropper member 270 is slidably disposed inbetween the lower plate member 232 of the negative holder assembly 192and a diffusion plate (not shown) disposed within the cover member 202.The gear engagement member 272 cooperates with the gear arm 276 of themotor 274 such that the cropper member 270 may be selectively positionedwithin the cover member 202 to align one of the first, second, and thirdcropping apertures 278, 280, 282 directly underneath the negativeaperture 236 of the negative holder assembly 192. In so doing, the lightwhich passes upwardly through the diffusion plate (not shown) will beshaped by one of the first, second, and third cropping apertures 278,280, 282 prior to passing through the film 196. Importantly, theimproved negative cropping assembly 268 of the present invention iscapable of translating the cropper member 270 within the cover member202 at high speeds such that the various cropping apertures may bequickly interchanged depending upon the type of border is desired oneach particular photographic print. It is to be understood that thecorners of the first, second, and third cropping apertures 278-282 maybe configured in any of a variety of ornate shapes, including but notlimited to stars.

With reference to FIGS. 12-14, illustrated is a diffusion plate cleaningassembly 284 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. The diffusion plate cleaning assembly 284 resideswithin the cover member 204 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and includes adiffusion plate 286, a cleaning member 288, and means for selectivelypassing the diffusion plate 286 under the cleaning member 288 to removedust and other unwanted particles from the top surface of the diffusionplate 286. The diffusion plate 286 is common in the art and serves toequalize the light which is emitted upwards from the lamp deck 50 beforeit passes through the negative positioned within the negative holderassembly 192. The cleaning member 288 is disposed in fixed position andincludes a rigid upper member 290 and a brush member 292 extendingdownwardly therefrom. In the preferred embodiment shown, the means forautomatically passing the diffusion plate 286 under the cleaning member288 comprises a first side rail 294 disposed parallel to a second siderail 296, a first pair of slide members 298 a, 298 b fixed to one edgeof the diffusion plate 286 for sliding longitudinally along the firstside rail 294, a second pair of slide members 300 a, 300 b fixed to thediffusion plate 286 for sliding longitudinally along the second siderail 296, and coupling means for coupling the diffusion plate 286 to amotor 302 for selectively translating the diffusion plate 286 back andforth along the first and second side rails 294, 296. By way of exampleand not limitation, the coupling means may comprise a first gear member304 connected a shaft 306 of the motor 302, a second gear member 308disposed in co-aligned fashion with the first gear member 304, a beltmember 310 extending between the first and second gear members 304, 308,and a clamping arm 312 extending from the first slide member 298 b forconnecting the diffusion plate 286 to the belt member 310.

FIG. 12 illustrates the diffusion plate cleaning assembly 284 duringnormal operation, that is, during the exposure of each photographicnegative, while FIG. 13 illustrates the diffusion plate cleaningassembly 284 during the cleaning operation. The diffusion plate cleaningassembly 284 is arranged such that the diffusion plate 286 will bepositioned directly in between the lamp deck 50 and the improvednegative cropping assembly 268 during the period of normal operation asshown in FIG. 12. This, once again, serves to equalize the lightprojecting upwardly from the lamp deck 50 so as to ensure proper colorbalance in the resulting photographic prints. After a predeterminednumber of exposures have been undertaken, or once each sitting isfinished, the diffusion plate 286 will be translated into the positionshown in FIG. 13 so as to draw the top surface of the diffusion plate286 into contact with the brush member 292, thereby removing any debrisor particles that may have settled on the diffusion plate 286 duringoperation. In the preferred embodiment, the motor 302 is capable oftranslating the diffusion plate 286 back and forth past the brush member292 in approximately 0.25 seconds.

FIGS. 15-17 illustrate a diffusion plate cleaning assembly 284′ inaccordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.In contrast to the first preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 12-14, adiffusion plate 286′ is disposed in a fixed position directly above thelamp deck (not shown), while a cleaning member 288′ is equipped withtranslation means for automatically passing the cleaning member 288′over the top surface of the diffusion plate 286′ to thereby selectivelyclean the diffusion plate 286′. In order to selectively pass the brushmember 292′ across the diffusion plate 286′, the translation meanscomprises a first side rail 294′ disposed parallel to a second side rail296′, a first slide member 298′ fixed to one edge of the cleaning member288′ for sliding longitudinally along the first side rail 294′, a secondslide member 300′ fixed to the cleaning member 288′ for slidinglongitudinally along the second side rail 296′, and coupling means forcoupling the cleaning member 288′ to a motor 302′ for selectivelytranslating the cleaning member 288′ back and forth along the first andsecond side rails 294′, 296′. As with the embodiment shown in FIGS.12-14, the coupling means may comprise a first gear member 304′connected a shaft 306′ of the motor 302′, a second gear member 308′disposed in co-aligned fashion with the first gear member 304′, a beltmember 310′ extending between the first and second gear members 304′,308′, and a clamping arm 312′ extending from the first slide member 298b′ for connecting the cleaning member 288′ to the belt member 310′.

The cleaning member 288′ may be selectively moved across the diffusionplate 286′ such that the brush member 292′ sweeps away any unwantedparticles from the diffusion plate 286′, thereby minimizing thelikelihood that dust or “floaters” will foul up or impede the light asit progresses through the diffusion plate 286′. As noted above, thissweeping action is employed after a predetermined number of exposureshave been completed, i.e. in between sittings, such that any dust whichmay have settled on the diffusion plate 286′ during the previous sittingmay be removed prior to performing the exposures which comprise the nextsitting. This is particularly advantageous in that, to the extent dustand related particles accrue on the diffusion plate 286′, the resultingdefects on the photographic prints will be isolated to the prints of asingle sitting rather than to the prints of several individual sittings.The end result is a drastic reduction in the amount of waste which stemsfrom dust settling on the diffusion plate 286′ which, it will beappreciated, reduces expense and improves overall print quality.

In an important aspect of the present invention, the diffusion platecleaning assemblies 284, 284′ accomplish the aforementioned cleaningfunction in a quick and expedient fashion such that the diffusion plates286, 286′ may be cleaned while the film 196 is being advanced betweenexposures so as to increase the overall speed of operation. For example,in the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 12-14, the diffusionplate cleaning assembly 284 is capable of translating the diffusionplate 286 back and forth under the cleaning member 288 in approximately0.25 seconds. In similar fashion, the alternate diffusion plate cleaningassembly 284′ shown in FIGS. 15-17 is capable of moving the cleaningmember 288′ back and forth across the top surface of the diffusion plate286′ in approximately 0.25 seconds. As noted above, the presentinvention provides the ability to advance the paper 196 at a rate of 13inches/0.25 seconds such that an unexposed portion of paper 196 may bepositioned within the exposure assembly 60 in preparation for asubsequent set of exposures. In an important aspect of the presentinvention, the motors 302, 302′ are controlled such that the entirecleaning operation will be performed while the paper 196 is beingadvanced, thereby eliminating the prior art need to halt operations tomanually clean the diffusion plate. Moreover, it is also possible toconfigure the diffusion plate cleaning assembly 284′ in FIGS. 15-17 suchthat the cleaning member 288′ will pass only once over the diffusionplate 286′ in between sittings (i.e. from FIG. 15 to FIG. 16), therebyperforming the cleaning function in even less time than described above.Considering all of the above-enumerated features, the diffusion platecleaning assemblies 284, 284′ of the present invention minimize the timerequire to clean the diffusion plate 286, 286′ and, by performing thecleaning on a periodic basis, improves the overall print quality.

Lens Deck

With reference to FIG. 18, illustrated in detail is the lens deck 52 ofthe present invention. The lens deck 52 includes a first projectionassembly 314, a second projection assembly 316, a third projectionassembly 318, a fourth projection assembly 320, a fifth projectionassembly 322, a first masking assembly 324, and a second maskingassembly 326, all of which are slidably displaceable along correspondingside rails via a plurality of individual motor assemblies. Morespecifically, a first motor 328 is employed to selectively translate thefirst projection assembly 314 along a first pair of side rails 330, asecond motor 332 is used to selectively translate the second projectionassembly 316 along a second pair of side rails 334, a third motor 336 isemployed to selectively translate the third projection assembly 318along a third pair of side rails 338, a fourth motor 340 is configuredto selectively translate the fourth projection assembly 320 along afourth pair of side rails 342, and a fifth motor 344 is used toselectively translate the fifth projection assembly 322 along a fifthpair of side rails 346. A sixth motor 348 and a seventh motor 352 arefurther provided for selectively translating the first and secondmasking assemblies 324, 326 along a sixth pair of side rails 350. Aswill be discussed in greater detail below, the aforementioned projectionassemblies 314-322 include several distinct lens types such that avariety of different photographic exposures may be formed on thephotographic paper 22 by selectively positioning the projectionassemblies 314-322 in the image-bearing light being projected from thefilm deck 48. The projection assemblies 314-322 are also equipped withvarious masking members which, in cooperation with the first and secondmasking assemblies 324, 326, produce sharply defined borders on eachphoto exposure by positioning a particular masking member within theshadow or penumbra area generated along the edges of the image bearinglight as it projects upward towards the paper 22.

Referring to FIGS. 19A-19C, the first projection assembly 314 includes arotational prism assembly 356 for producing 10″×13″ photographs, an8″×10″ lens assembly 358 for producing 8″×10″ photographs, a carriagemember 360 for supporting the 8″×10″ lens assembly 358 and rotationalprism assembly 356, and a mask member 362 for reducing reflectionswithin the lens deck 52. The rotational prism assembly 356 includes ahousing member 402 fixedly attached to a support plate 366 which, inturn, is fixedly attached to the carriage member 360 via a plurality ofstand-off members 368. The housing member 402 extends downwardly througha prism aperture 364 formed in the carriage member 360 and, as will bediscussed in greater detail below, includes a plurality of interiorlydisposed prism and lens members for rotating the image-bearing lightwhich projects upwardly from the film 196 by ninety (90) degrees toproduce 10″×13″ photographs on the paper 22 within the exposure aperture110. The 8″×10″ lens assembly 358 includes an 8″×10″ lens unit 370centrally disposed within a tubular housing member 372. The tubularhousing member 372 is fixedly attached to a support plate 374 andextends downwardly through a lens aperture 376 formed in the carriagemember 360. The support plate 374, in turn, is fixedly attached to thecarriage member 360 through the use of a plurality of stand-off members378. The carriage member 360 is further equipped with a plurality ofslide members 380 a, 380 b for slidably receiving the first pair of siderails 330 shown in FIG. 18. The mask member 362 is fixedly attached tothe slide members 380 a, 380 b and includes an aperture 384 which allowsimage-bearing light to project upwards for magnification by the second,third, fourth, and fifth projection assemblies 316-322. By restrictingthe projection of the image-bearing light in this fashion, the maskmember 362 serves to reduce the incidence of reflections within the lensdeck 52 when using the second, third, fourth, and fifth projectionassemblies 316-322, thereby improving print quality.

FIG. 20 illustrates the 90 degree image rotation accomplished by therotational prism assembly 356 of the present invention. To aid in theunderstanding of the rotational prism assembly 356, the housing member402 is not shown so as to expose the optical components employed toaccomplish the aforementioned image rotation. Specifically, therotational prism assembly 356 includes a first prism member 386, asecond prism member 388, a third prism member 390, a first lens assembly392, a second lens assembly 394, and a third lens assembly 396. Thefirst lens assembly 392 is positioned between the first and second prismmembers 386, 388. The second lens assembly 394 is positioned between thesecond and third prism members 388, 390. The third lens assembly 396 isjuxtaposed in close proximity to the top surface of the third prismmember 390. In operation, the rotational prism assembly 356 ispositioned within the lens deck 52 such that the first prism member 386is positioned directly above a negative 408 within the film 196. Thefirst and second lens assemblies 392, 394 cooperate with the first,second, and third prism members 386-390 to rotate the image bearinglight from the film 196 approximately ninety (90) degrees. The thirdlens assembly 396 is configured to magnify the rotated image-bearinglight such that a 10″×13″ photographic print may be generated on thepaper 22 within the exposure aperture 110 of the paper deck 46.

Through the foregoing arrangement, then, the rotational prism assembly356 of the present invention rotates the image-bearing light whichprojects upwardly from the negative 408 such that the resulting image404′ on the paper 22 is approximately 90 degrees out of phase from theimage 404 on the negative 408. The main advantage of rotating theimage-bearing light in this fashion is that it allows 10″×13″photographs to be generated on the photographic paper 22, which istypically 10″ wide, without having to physically rotate the film 196. Inmost instances, the negatives of the film 196 are situated such that thelongitudinal axis of the photo subjects are perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the film 196. In that the image-bearing light isprojected upwards in the same orientation as it resides on the negative,this light must be rotated ninety (90) degrees before projecting ontothe paper 22 in order to form a 10″×13″ photograph. In the past, thisrotation was accomplished through the use of mechanical means, namely aturret or turntable for physically rotating the film 196. Thistechnique, however, is costly in terms of the time required to rotatethe film 196, the time required to dampen out the rotation-inducedvibrations, and the space required to carry out film rotation.

In yet another important aspect, the rotational prism assembly 356 ofthe present invention accomplishes the aforementioned image-rotationwithout reversing or inverting the image 404 on the negative 408 suchthat the orientation of both images 404, 404′ are in accord with oneanother. This feature is best illustrated with reference to the images404, 404′ on the negative 408 and paper 22, respectively. The stick-manimage 404 on the negative 408 is provided with an object 406 at the endof his right arm. Importantly, the rotational prism assembly 356effectuates image rotation such that the resulting image 404′ isprojected onto the paper 22 with the object 406′ similarly disposed atthe end of his right arm. This is a particularly advantageousdistinction over the prior art image rotation arrangements which employmirrors because such mirror arrangements tend to invert or reverse theorientation of the image between the negative and the paper.

With reference again to FIGS. 19A-19E, the housing member 372 of therotational prism assembly 356 includes a base portion 410 integrallyconnected to a tubular portion 412. The base portion 410 forms thehousing for the first, second, and third prism members 386, 388, 390, aswell as the first and second lens assemblies 392, 394, while the tubularportion 412 serves as the housing for the third lens assembly 396. In apreferred embodiment, the first lens assembly 392 includes a first lensmember 414 and a second lens member 416, the second lens assembly 394includes a first lens member 418 and a second lens member 420, and thethird lens assembly 396 includes a first lens member 422 and a secondlens member 424. The tubular portion 412 includes a lower tubularsection 426 fixed to the base portion 410, an upper tubular section 428,and a middle tubular section 430 extending therebetween. The first andsecond lens members 422, 424 of the third lens assembly 396 arepreferably housed within the upper tubular section 428. The first prismmember 386 is positioned directly above the center of the negative(denoted as reference numeral 408′ in FIG. 19A), the third prism member390 is centered below the lower tubular section 426, and the secondprism member 388 is positioned angularly between the first and thirdprism members 386, 390. Arranged in this fashion, the rotational prismassembly 356 accomplishes the desired ninety (90) degree image rotationin a fully optical fashion, thereby eliminating the need to employ thebulky and slow mechanical turret systems. As noted above, thiseffectively reduces the space required, and also reduces the settlingtime in that there is no need to wait for vibrations to die out as wasthe case with a rotating turret. Moreover, the rotational prism assembly356 of the present invention does not use any mirrors to accomplish theimage rotation, thereby ensuring that the resulting photographic imageis in the same orientation as it resides on the negative.

Referring now to FIGS. 21A and 21B, the second projection assembly 316includes a quint lens assembly 432 and a quad lens assembly 434 fixedlyattached to a carrier assembly 436. As will be explained in greaterdetail below, the carrier assembly 436 is slidably disposed within thelens deck 52 such that the quint lens assembly 432 and the quad lensassembly 434 may be selectively positioned within the image-bearinglight being projected upwardly from the film deck 48. The quint lensassembly 432 is equipped with five separate lens units and the quad lensassembly 434 is equipped with four separate lens units such that, wheneither is positioned within the image-bearing light, each lens unit willproject a magnified image-bearing light beam upwardly towards the paper22 within the exposure aperture 110. In an important aspect of thepresent invention, a plurality of masking members are provided inbetween the second projection assembly 316 and the paper 22 forselectively blocking out one or more of the magnified image-bearinglight beams so as to restrict the number of magnified image-bearinglight beams which project onto the paper 22 at any given time. Throughthis masking feature, in cooperation with the bi-directional filmmovement described above, the quint lens assembly 432 and quad lensassembly 434 are capable of generating a plurality of differentphotographic images on the paper 22 exposed within the exposure aperture110. Moreover, as will be set forth in greater detail below, the presentinvention can produce these composite photographs in quick succession soas to save time and, hence, cost.

With regard to structure, the carrier assembly 436 includes an uppercarrier member 438, a lower carrier member 440, a vertical wall member442 extending therebetween, and a plurality of slide members 444. Theupper carrier member 438 is generally rectangular and planar in shapeand includes a quint lens aperture 446 for allowing image-bearing lightto project upwardly into the various lens units of the quint lensassembly 432 for magnification. The lower carrier member 440 issimilarly generally rectangular and planar in shape and includes a quadlens aperture 448 for allowing image-bearing light to project upwardlyinto the various lenses of the quad lens assembly 434 for magnification.The vertical wall member 442 is attached in perpendicular fashion toadjacent edges of the upper and lower carrier members 438, 440 such thatthe upper and lower carrier members 438, 440 are disposed in a generallyparallel and spaced relationship with one another. The plurality ofslide members 444 are fixedly attached to the outer corners of the upperand lower carrier members 438, 440 so as to slidably receive the secondpair of side rails 334 shown in FIG. 18. An attachment member 450 formsa portion of one of the slide members 444 for the purpose of couplingthe second motor 332 to the second projection assembly 316.

The quint lens assembly 432 includes a generally planar lens supportmember 452 having a first lens unit 454, a second lens unit 456, a thirdlens unit 458, a fourth lens unit 460, and a fifth lens unit 462 fixedlyattached thereto. The first lens unit 454 includes a tubular housingmember 464 extending downwardly from the approximate center of the lenssupport member 452. The first lens unit 454 also includes an internallydisposed lens assembly 466 having a predetermined magnification ratiowhich, as will be described below, is capable of producing a centrallylocated, relatively large photographic image on the paper 22 within theexposure aperture 110. In the preferred embodiment shown, the second,third, fourth, and fifth lens units 456-462 are identical inconstruction and arranged in a generally rectangular configuration aboutthe first lens unit 454. The second, third, fourth, and fifth lens units456-462 include tubular housing members 468, 470, 472, 474 andinternally disposed lens assemblies 476, 478, 480, 482, respectively.Each of the second, third, fourth, and fifth lens assemblies 476-482have an identical predetermined magnification ratio which, in apreferred embodiment, is generally less than the magnification ratio ofthe first lens assembly 466. Arranged in the foregoing fashion, thesecond, third, fourth, and fifth lens units 456-462 are capable ofproducing four identically sized, relatively small photographic imagesin a rectangular arrangement about the centrally located, relativelylarge photographic image generated by the first lens unit 454.

In a preferred embodiment, the size of the photographic image generatedby the first lens unit 454 is approximately 4.6″×6.5″, while the size ofeach photographic image generated by the second, third, fourth, andfifth lens units 456-462 is approximately 2.75″×3.75″. The longitudinalaxis of each photographic image is perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of the paper 22 such that the resulting composite has all fivephotographic images disposed in a symmetrical arrangement on a single10″×13″ swath of paper 22. In an important aspect of the presentinvention, the centrally located, relatively large photographic image isproduced by configuring the lens assembly 466 within the first lens unit454 in a retro-focus arrangement. More specifically, the lens assembly466 includes an internally disposed mirror arrangement for increasingthe overall distance which the magnified image-bearing light must travelbefore projecting onto the paper 22. This, of course, has the effect ofincreasing the size of the resulting photographic image on the paper 22.The principal advantage of such an arrangement is that the first lensunit 454 may be positioned physically closer to the paper 22 and stillproduce the centrally located photographic image in the desired size of4.6″×6.5″. Without the benefit of such a retro-focus arrangement, thefirst lens unit 454 would have to extend well below the position shownin FIG. 21B in order to produce the centrally located photographic imagein the desired size. As will be appreciated with reference to FIG. 18,the retro-focus arrangement of the lens assembly 466 therefore allowsthe first lens unit 454 to be positioned higher within the lens deck 52so as to establish an ample amount of vertical clearance between thefirst and second projection assemblies 314, 316. This, of course,eliminates the threat of collision between the first and secondprojection assemblies 314, 316 and provides for a more compactarrangement of the components within the lens deck 52. Importantly, thisretro-focus arrangement also brings the first lens unit 454 closer tothe paper 22 such that the second, third, fourth, and fifth lens units456-462 are not blocked by the first lens unit 454 such that they caneffectively receive the image-bearing light without interference.

The quad lens assembly 434 includes a first lens unit 484, a second lensunit 486, a third lens unit 488, and a fourth lens unit 490, all ofwhich are fixedly attached to a generally planar lens support member492. A plurality of stand-off members 494 are provided for fixedlyattaching the lens support member 492 to the lower carrier member 440such that the first, second, third, and fourth lens units 484-490 aredisposed above the quad lens aperture 448 formed in the lower carriermember 440. In the preferred embodiment, the first, second, third, andfourth lens units 484-490 are identical in construction and comprisetubular housing members 496, 498, 500, 502 having internally disposedlens assemblies 504, 506, 508, 510, respectively. The housing members496-502 are disposed in a generally square arrangement on the lenssupport member 492 and extend upwardly therefrom. Each lens assembly504-508 has an identical magnification ratio which, in a preferredembodiment, is capable of generating a photographic image approximately3.5″×5″ in size on the paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110. Morespecifically, the first, second, third, and fourth lens units 484-490are configured such that the longitudinal axis of each 3.5″×5″photographic image is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of thepaper 22. As will be set forth in greater detail below, the resultingcomposite comprises an upper right photographic image formed by thefirst lens unit 484, a lower right photographic image formed by thesecond lens unit 486 and disposed immediately below the upper rightphotographic image, a lower left photographic image formed by the thirdlens unit 488 and disposed immediately adjacent to the lower rightphotographic image, and an upper left photographic image formed by thefourth lens unit 490 and disposed immediately above the lower leftphotographic image and immediately adjacent the upper right photographicimage. If so desired, the remaining unexposed portion of the paper 22within the exposure aperture 110 (to the left of the photographicimages) may be utilized by simply advancing the paper 22 and generatingtwo more photographic images immediately adjacent to the upper and lowerleft photographic images.

FIGS. 22A-22C illustrate the third projection assembly 318 constructedin accordance with yet another important aspect of the presentinvention. The third projection assembly 318 includes a carrier assembly512, a 13UP lens assembly 514, and a masking member 516. The carrierassembly 512 comprises a generally planar carrier member 518 having a13UP lens aperture 520 formed therethrough and a plurality of slidemembers 522 extending upwardly from each corner. The 13UP lens aperture520 is provided to allow the image-bearing light to pass upwardly fromthe film deck 48 into the 13UP lens assembly 514 for magnification. Theslide members 522 are provided for slidably receiving the third pair ofside rails 338 set forth in FIG. 18, and the third motor 336 is coupledto an attachment member 524 such that the third projection assembly 318may be selectively translated within the lens deck 52. The 13UP lensassembly 514 includes a generally planar lens support member 526 fixedlyattached to the carrier member 518 via a plurality of stand-off members528, a wallet lens module 530, a sub-wallet lens module 532, and a 5″×7″lens module 534. As will be explained in greater detail below, thewallet lens module 530, the sub-wallet lens module 532, and the 5″×7″lens module 534 are arranged so as to simultaneously generate ninewallet size photo-graphs, three sub-wallet size photographs, and asingle 5″×7″ photograph, respectively, on the paper 22 within theexposure aperture 110 with the exposure of a single negative. Themasking member 516 is connected to the carriage member 518 via opposingarm members 536, 538 and includes a first quad lens masking aperture 540and a second quad lens masking aperture 542. As will be explained ingreater detail below, the first and second quad lens masking apertures540, 542 cooperate with the first and second masking assemblies 324, 326shown in FIG. 18 to selectively mask out one or more of the magnifiedimage-bearing light beams from the quad lens assembly 434. Inconjunction with the bi-directional film movement described above, thismasking feature provides the ability to generate a folio photographcomprising several different 3.5″×5″ photographic images on the paper 22while maintaining the third projection assembly 318 in a fixed positionwithin the lens deck 52.

The wallet lens module 530 includes a base member 544 and nineidentically constructed lens units 546. More specifically, the nine lensunits 546 are disposed on the base member 544 so as to form a firstcolumn 548, a second column 550, and a third column 552. The firstcolumn 548 is provided along one longitudinal edge of the base member544. The second column 550 is provided parallel to the first column 548in the approximate center of the base member 544. The third column 552is provided along the other longitudinal edge of the base member 544parallel to the second column 550. Each of the nine lens units 546includes a tubular housing member 554 and an internally disposed lensassembly 556. In a preferred embodiment, each lens assembly 556 isconfigured to produce a wallet sized photograph approximately 2.2″×3.1″on the paper 22. As will be illustrated and described in greater detailbelow, the parallel arrangement of the first, second, and third columns548, 550, 552 causes the nine lens units 546 to generate three parallelcolumns of three wallet size photographs on the paper 22 such that thelongitudinal axis of each photograph is perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110.Specifically, a first column of three wallet size photographs will begenerated along the trailing edge of the paper 22 within the exposureaperture 110, while a second and a third column of three wallet sizedphotographs will be generated parallel to and in a slightly spacedrelation to the first column of three wallet size photographs.

The sub-wallet lens module 532 is constructed in similar fashion as thewallet lens module 530 and includes a base portion 558 and a row ofthree identically constructed lens units. More specifically, a firstlens unit 560 is provided proximate one lateral edge of the base portion558, a second lens unit 562 is provided in the approximate center of thebase portion 558 immediately adjacent to the first lens unit 560, and athird lens unit 564 is provided proximate the other lateral edge of thebase member 558 immediately adjacent to the second lens unit 562. Eachlens unit 560-564 includes a tubular housing member 566, 568, 570 and aninternally disposed lens assembly 572, 574, 576, respectively. In apreferred embodiment, each lens assembly 572, 574, 576 is capable ofgenerating a sub-wallet photograph having an approximate size of 1″×2.1″on the paper 22. In the foregoing arrangement, the first, second, andthird lens units 560, 562, 564 will generate three sub-walletphotographs as a row extending between the leading edge of the paper 22within the exposure aperture 110 and the third column of walletphotographs generated by the third column 552 of the wallet lens module530.

The 5″×7″ lens module 534 includes an upper housing member 578, a lowerhousing member 580, and, as will be described hereinafter, an internallydisposed lens assembly for generating a 5″×7″ photographic imageadjacent and parallel to the row of three sub-wallet photographsproximate the leading edge 126 of the paper 22 within the exposureaperture 110. In order to position the 5″×7″ photographic image in thisspecific area of the exposure aperture 110, it is necessary to projectthe magnified image-bearing light off-center with respect to thenegative 408 within the film aperture 236. With combined reference toFIG. 23, this is accomplished by configuring the lens assembly toinclude a first lens member 582, a second lens member 584, a third lensmember 586, a fourth lens member 588, a fifth lens member 590, and asixth lens member 592. The first and second lens members 582, 584 aredisc-shaped and disposed proximate the bottom edge of the lower housingmember 580, while the third and fourth lens members 586, 588 aredisc-shaped and disposed within the lower housing member 580 proximatethe junction with the upper housing member 578. The fifth and sixth lensmembers 590, 592 are in the form of a half disc and are disposed withinthe upper housing member 578. More specifically, the sixth lens member592 is located at the approximate top of the upper housing member 578,while the fifth lens member 590 is disposed a predetermined distancebelow the sixth lens member 592 within the upper housing member 578.

In an important aspect of the present invention, the 5″×7″ lens module534 is positioned within the lens deck 52 such that the first and secondlens members 582, 584 are off-center with respect to the negative 408within the film aperture 236. In this arrangement, then, theimage-bearing light rays (shown in solid lines at 594) pass angularlyupwards from the negative 408 and into the first and second lens members582, 584. The angular projection of the image-bearing light into thefirst and second lens members 582, 584, in turn, causes theimage-bearing light rays 594 to continue projecting angularly throughthe third, fourth, fifth, and sixth lens members 586-592 and furtherinto the desired position proximate the leading edge 126 of the exposureaperture 110. This is advantageous in that it provides the ability togenerate 13 individual photographic images (9 wallets, 3 sub-wallets,and one 5″×7″) on the paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110 with theexposure of a single negative. Moreover, this is advantageous in thatthe fifth and sixth lens members 590, 592 may be formed in the half discshape, thereby reducing the amount of space consumed by the 5″×7″ lensmodule 534. To further explain, the off-center positioning of the 5″×7″lens module 534 causes the entire image-bearing light rays 594 to extendangularly to the right of center after passing through the first,second, third, and fourth lens members 582-588. Thus, the fifth andsixth lens members 590, 592 need only comprise the right half of anordinarily disc-shaped lens, as opposed to a full disc shape as shown inphantom at 590′, 592′. If the 5″×7″ lens module 534 were disposeddirectly above the negative 408 within the film aperture 236, theresulting image-bearing light rays (shown in dashed lines at 596) wouldproject upwardly in a straight fashion and therefore require that thefifth and sixth lens members 590, 592 be fully formed to include eachleft half 590′, 592′.

Turning to FIGS. 24A and 24B, the fourth projection assembly 320includes a carriage assembly 598 having an 18UP lens assembly 600fixedly attached thereto. The carriage assembly 598 includes a generallyplanar carriage member 602 and a plurality of slide members 604. Thecarriage member 602 has an 18UP lens aperture 606 formed therein forallowing the image-bearing light to project upwardly into the 18UP lensassembly 600 for magnification. The slide members 604 are fixedlyattached to the carriage member 602 so as to slidably receive the fourthpair of side rails 342 shown in FIG. 18. An attachment member 608 isprovided for coupling the fourth motor 340 to the fourth projectionassembly 320 so that the fourth projection assembly 320 may beselectively translated within the lens deck 52. The 18UP lens assembly600 comprises a generally planar lens support member 610 having a bankof eighteen identically constructed lens units 612. The support member610 is connected to the carriage member 602 via a plurality of stand-offmembers 624 such that the lens units 612 are disposed directly above the18UP lens aperture 606 The eighteen lens units 612 are similar instructure to the aforementioned lens units, each including a tubularhousing member 614 fixedly attached to the lens support member 610having a lens assembly 616 disposed therein. In a preferred embodiment,the lens units 612 are arranged to form a first column 618, a secondcolumn 620, and a third column 622. All of the lens assemblies 616 havethe same magnification ratio such that, in a preferred embodiment,eighteen individual photographic images, each having an approximate sizeof 1.20″×1.7″, are projected upon the paper 22 within the exposureaperture 110. More particularly, the first column 618 of six lenses willproject a column of six individual photographic images extending acrossapproximately the entire 10 inch width of the paper 22 along the leadingedge 126 of the exposure aperture 110. In similar fashion, the secondcolumn 620 of six lenses will project a corresponding column of sixphotographic images parallel to those generated by the first column 618of six lenses, while the third column 622 of six lenses will generate acorresponding column of six photographic images proximate thosegenerated by the second column 620 of six lenses.

With reference now to FIGS. 25A and 25B, the fifth projection assembly322 includes a carriage assembly 626 and a charm lens assembly 628. Thecarriage assembly 626 includes a generally planar carriage member 630having a plurality of slide members 660 disposed thereon for slidablyreceiving the fifth pair of side rails 346 shown in FIG. 18. Anattachment member 662 is provided on one of the slide members 660 forcoupling the fifth motor 344 to the carriage assembly 626 such that thefifth projection assembly 332 may be selectively positioned within thelens deck 52. The carriage member 630 includes a first quint maskingaperture 632, a second quint masking aperture 634, and a charm aperture636 formed therein. As will be described in greater detail below, thefirst and second quint masking apertures 632, 634 are provided to allowonly two of the four magnified image-bearing light beams from thesecond, third, fourth, and fifth lens units 456-462 of the quint lensassembly 432 to pass upwardly toward the paper 22 within the exposureaperture 110. As will be explained below, the first and second quintmasking apertures 632, 634 cooperate with the first and second maskingassemblies 324, 326 so as to provide folio photographs comprising aplurality of different 3.5″×5″ photographic images. The charm aperture636 is provided such that image-bearing light may project upwardly intothe charm lens assembly 628 for magnification. The charm lens assembly628 includes a generally planar lens support member 638 having a firstcharm lens unit 640, a second charm lens unit 642, and a third charmlens unit 644 attached thereto. The lens support member 638 is fixedlyattached to the carriage member 630 via a plurality of stand-off members646. In a preferred embodiment, these charm lens units 640-644 areidentical in construction and include tubular housing members 648, 650,652 having internally disposed lens assemblies 654, 656, 658. Each lensassembly 654-658 has a magnification ratio for producing charm-sized(1″×1.25″) photographic images on the paper 22 within the exposureaperture 110. More specifically, the photographic images areapproximately 1″×1.25″ in size and, in a preferred embodiment, arepositioned parallel and immediately adjacent to the 8″×10″ photographicimage generated by the 8″×10″ lens unit 358 of the first projectionassembly 314.

Lamp Deck

With reference now to FIGS. 26A-26D, shown is the lamphouse 51 embodyingyet another important feature of the present invention. The lamphouse 51may comprise any number of commercially available lamphouses having aplurality of lamp assemblies for projecting light upwardly towards thefilm deck 48. In a preferred embodiment, the lamphouse 51 includes ahousing member 664 equipped with a first lamp assembly 668, a secondlamp assembly 670, a third lamp assembly 672, and an internally disposedpower supply 674. The upper surface of the housing member 664 includes acircular portion 676 disposed centrally between angularly extending sidewall portions 678, 680, 682, 684. The circular portion 676 includes afirst filter aperture 686, a second filter aperture 688, and a thirdfilter aperture 690. In a preferred embodiment, the first, second, andthird filter apertures 686-690 are formed such that each aperturedefines a circular area of approximately 2.41 square inches. The lampassemblies 668-672 are identical in construction, each including areflective bulb enclosure 692, 694, 696 coupled directly below thefirst, second, and third filter apertures 686, 688, 690, respectively,and an internally disposed light bulb 698, 700, 702. The power supply674 is coupled to each light bulb 698-702 and configured such that eachlight bulb 698-702 may be selectively driven to vary the light energybeing emitted therefrom.

In an important aspect of the present invention, an improved filteringarrangement is provided for balancing the color of the light beingemitted by the light bulbs 698-702 such that each light bulb 698-702 maybe powered at approximately the same level. As will become apparent,equalizing the level at which each of the light bulbs 698-702 arepowered creates a condition where all the light bulbs 698-702 will havea substantially equal life span such that they can all be replaced atthe same time, thereby minimizing system down time consumed forreplacing the light bulbs 698-702. The improved filtering arrangement ofthe present invention includes a first dichroic filter 704 disposedwithin the first filter aperture 686, a second and a third dichroicfilter 706, 708 disposed within the second filter aperture 688, and afourth and a fifth dichroic filter 710, 712 disposed within the thirdfilter aperture 690. In order to properly expose the paper 22 within theexposure aperture 110, the lamphouse 51 must combine red, green, andblue light in specific fashion to ensure proper color balance. Toaccomplish this, the first, third, and fourth dichroic filters 704, 708,710 are provided as red in color, the second dichroic filter 706 isprovided as green in color, and the fifth dichroic filter 712 isprovided as blue in color. In terms of size, the first dichroic filter704 has an area of approximately 2.41 square inches, the second dichroicfilter 706 has an area of approximately 1.69 square inches, the thirddichroic filter 708 has an area of approximately 0.72 square inches, thefourth dichroic filter 710 has an area of approximately 1.35 squareinches, and the fifth dichroic filter 712 has an area of approximately1.06 square inches.

In the foregoing arrangement, the first dichroic filter 704 filters thelight emanating from the first lamp assembly 668, the second and thirddichroic filters 706, 708 combine to filter the light emanating from thesecond lamp assembly 670, and the fourth and fifth dichroic filters 710,712 combine to filter the light emanating from the third lamp assembly672. Each of the filtered light beams is thereafter passed through thediffusion plate 286 prior to passing through the negative aperture 236to further ensure proper color mixing for optimal exposure quality onthe paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110. Moreover, by providingthe second and third dichroic filters 706, 708 and the fourth and fifthdichroic filters 710, 712 in matched sets as set forth above, theresulting light beams are appropriately colored such that each of thelight bulbs 698-702 may be operated at approximately the same powerlevel. Operating the light bulbs 698-702 at equivalent power levels isadvantageous in that the bulbs 698-702 will have approximately the sameeffective life span such that they may all be replaced at the same time,thereby minimizing the amount of system down time for such activities.This is in marked distinction to filtering arrangements of prior artlamphouses which, as noted above, involve positioning a single uni-colordichroic filter (i.e. red, green, blue, yellow) over each lamp assemblyfor creating the colored light. In that red is the predominant colorrequired when creating exposures on photographic paper, the light bulbassociated with the red filter are typically operated at a higher powerthan the other light bulbs, thereby causing it to burn out at anincreased rate relative to the other light bulbs. This, once again,disadvantageously translates into increased system down time forreplacing the burned out light bulbs. The improved filtering arrangementof the present invention solves this problem by equaling the lightenergy which is emitted from the light bulbs 698-702. As noted above,this causes all the light bulbs 698-702 to have substantially the samelife span such that they can all be replaced at the same time so as toeffectively reduce the amount of system down time.

Mode of Operation

FIG. 27 illustrates the high speed package printer 10 of the presentinvention configured to produce a 10″×13″ photograph 714. With furtherreference to FIGS. 19A-20, the first projection assembly 314 ispositioned within the lens deck 52 such that the first prism member 386of the rotational prism assembly 356 is located directly above theimage-bearing light which progresses upward from the film deck 48. Thefirst prism member 386 cooperates with the second and third prismmembers 388, 390 and the lens assemblies 392-396 to rotate and magnifythe image-bearing light from the film deck 48 to produce the 10″×13″photographic image 714 on the paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110of the paper deck 46. The second, third, fourth, and fifth projectionassemblies 316, 318, 320, 322 are moved off to either side of the lensdeck 52 via motors 332, 336, 340, 344 so as not to interfere with themagnified image-bearing light projecting upwardly from the rotationalprism assembly 356. In a preferred embodiment, the first and secondmasking assemblies 324, 326 may be selectively posiitoned within thepenumbra of the magnified image-bearing light via motors 348, 352,respectively, to define sharp borders along the leading and trailingedges of the resulting 10″×13″ image 714. It should be noted withparticularity that the magnified image-bearing light projects off-centerwith respect to the negative within the negative holder assembly 192, asevidenced by the negative center line designated at 716.

FIG. 28 illustrates the high speed package printer 10 of the presentinvention configured to produce an 8″×10″ photograph 718. With furtherreference to FIGS. 19A-19C, the first projection assembly 314 ispositioned within the lens deck 52 such that the 8″×10″ lens unit 358 ispositioned directly above the image-bearing light projecting upwardlyfrom the film deck 48. The lens assembly 370 within the 8″×10″ lens unit358, in turn, magnifies the image-bearing light from the film deck 48 toproject the 8″×10″ photographic image 718 on the paper 22 within theexposure aperture 110 shown in FIG. 3. As above, the second, third,fourth, and fifth projection assemblies 316, 318, 320, 322 are moved offto either side of the lens deck 52 via motors 332, 336, 340, 344 so asnot to interfere with the magnified image-bearing light projectingupwardly from the 8″×10″ lens unit 358. In an important aspect, thehinged mask member 112 is selectively actuated via first actuator 113 tothereby shorten the length of the exposure aperture 110. In a preferredembodiment, the mask member 112 is specifically dimensioned so as tocreate a sharp border along the trailing edge of the resulting 8″×10″photographic image 718. The second mask member 326 may be selectivelypositioned within the penumbra of the magnified image-bearing light fromthe 8″×10″ lens unit 358 via the motor 352 so as to define a sharpborder along the leading edge of the resulting 8″×10″ photographic image718. It should once again be noted that the magnified image-bearinglight projects upwardly from the 8″×10″ lens unit 358 off-center inrelation to the negative center line 716 such that the 8″×10″photographic image 718 abuts the leading edge 126 of the exposureaperture 110 as shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 29 illustrates the high speed package printer 10 of the presentinvention configured to produce a quint photograph 720 comprising fiveseparate photographic images 722-730. The first projection assembly 314is positioned within the lens deck 52 such that the aperture 384 formedin the mask member 362 (FIG. 19A) is located directly above the negativewithin the film deck 48. Positioning the first projection 314 in thisfashion restricts the image-bearing light which projects from the filmdeck 48 so as to reduce the incidence of reflections within the lensdeck 52 when using the second, third, fourth, and fifth projectionassemblies 316-322. The second projection assembly 316 is positionedwithin the lens deck 52 such that the quint assembly 432 shown in FIGS.21A and 21B is centered within the image-bearing light which progressesupwardly through the aperture 384 of the first projection assembly 314.This upwardly projecting image-bearing light causes each lens unit454-462 of the quint assembly 432 to project magnified image-bearinglight upwardly such that, if unimpeded, the quint photograph 720 willresult on the paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110 shown in FIG. 3.Specifically, the first lens unit 454 will produce the firstphotographic image 722 centered slightly to the left of the negativecenter line 716, while the second, third, fourth, and fifth lens units456, 458, 460, 462 will produce the second, third, fourth, and fifthphotographic images 724, 726, 728, 730, respectively, disposed inequidistant fashion about the first photographic image 722.

In an important aspect of the present invention, the first and secondquint masking apertures 632, 634 of the fifth projection assembly 322(FIG. 25A) cooperate with the first and second masking assemblies 324,326 to selectively block out one or more of the magnified image-bearinglight beams from the quint lens assembly 432 so as to restrict thenumber of magnified image-bearing light beams which project onto thepaper 22 at any given time. This selective masking feature, inconjunction with the bi-directional film movement of the presentinvention, provides the capability to generate the quint photograph 720wherein each photographic image 722-730 is based on separate anddistinct negative within the film 196. For example, the firstphotographic image 722 may be formed separately by masking out themagnified image-bearing light beams from the second, third, fourth, andfifth lens units 256-462 while allowing only the light from the firstlens unit 454 to project unimpeded onto the paper 22 within the exposureaperture 110. In a preferred embodiment, this masking is accomplished bymoving the third, fourth, and fifth projection assemblies 318-322 off toeither side of the lens deck 52 while selectively positioning the firstand second masking assemblies 324, 326 to block out the magnifiedimage-bearing light beams from the second, third, fourth, and fifth lensunits 256-462. Moreover, the first and second masking assemblies 324,326 may be advantageously positioned within the penumbra of theimage-bearing light from the first lens unit 454 so as to producesharply defined borders on the trailing and leading edges, respectively,of the resulting photographic image 722.

Following each exposure the film 196 within the film deck 48 maythereafter be selectively advanced or reversed to position anotherpreselected photographic negative within the negative aperture 236 ofthe negative holder assembly 192. In a preferred embodiment, the maskingmembers 324, 326 and masking apertures 632, 634 are simultaneouslyre-positioned while the film deck 48 is locating the next preselectednegative so as to reduce the overall amount of time between eachexposure. For example, after the exposure which forms the firstphotographic image 722, the film 196 within the film deck 48 may beselectively advanced or reversed to locate another preselected negativewhile, at the same time, the masking members 324, 326 and maskingapertures 632, 634 are re-positioned to produce the second, third,fourth, or fifth photographic images 724-730 based on the new negative.In order to create the second photographic image 724, the first maskingassembly 324 will be positioned so as to block out the magnifiedimage-bearing light from the first, fourth, and fifth lens units 454,460, 462. The fifth projection assembly 322 will also be positioned suchthat the image-bearing light from the second lens unit 456 will projectthrough the first quint masking aperture 632 to create the photographicimage 724. In an important aspect, the staggered relation between thefirst and second quint masking apertures 632, 634 causes the carriagemember 630 of the fifth projection assembly 322 to mask out the lightprojecting upwardly from the third lens unit 458 while the first quintmasking aperture 632 allows the magnified image-bearing light from thesecond lens unit 456 to project onward to the paper 22. It isfurthermore possible to position the second masking assembly 326 withinthe penumbra of the image-bearing light as it projects toward the paper22 to define a sharp or crisp border on the leading edge of the secondphotographic image 724.

The third, fourth, and fifth photographic images 726-730 may be formedseparately in the same fashion as set forth above. More specifically,the third photographic image 726 may be individually formed byselectively positioning the first masking assembly 324 to block out themagnified image-bearing light from the first, fourth, and fifth lensunits 454, 460, 462, while simultaneously positioning the fifthprojection assembly 322 such that the image-bearing light from the thirdlens unit 458 will project through the second quint masking aperture 634to create the photographic image 726. As above, the second maskingassembly 326 may be selectively positioned within the penumbra of theupwardly projecting light so as to produce a sharply defined border onthe leading edge of the resulting photographic image 726. The fourthphotographic image 728 may be individually formed by selectivelypositioning the second masking assembly 326 to block out the magnifiedimage-bearing light from the first, second, and third lens units 454,456, 458, while simultaneously positioning the fifth projection assembly322 such that the image-bearing light from the fourth lens unit 460 willproject through the second quint masking aperture 634 to create thephotographic image 728. Finally, the fifth photographic image 730 may beindividually formed by selectively positioning the second maskingassembly 326 to block out the image-bearing light from the first,second, and third lens units 454, 456, 458, while simultaneouslypositioning the fifth projection assembly 322 such that theimage-bearing light from the fifth lens unit 462 will project throughthe first quint masking aperture 632 to create the photographic image730. In the latter two instances, the first masking assembly 324 may beselectively positioned within the penumbra of the upwardly projectinglight so as to form sharply defined borders along the trailing edges ofthe resulting photographic images 728, 730.

FIG. 30 illustrates the high speed package printer 10 of the presentinvention configured to produce a folio-style composite 732 comprisingfour separate photographic images 734-740. The second projectionassembly 316 is positioned within the lens deck 52 such that the quadlens assembly 434 shown in FIGS. 21A and 21B is centered within theimage-bearing light which progresses upwardly through the aperture 384of the first projection assembly 314 (FIG. 19A). Arranged as such, eachlens unit 486-490 of the quad lens assembly 434 will project magnifiedimage-bearing light upwardly toward the paper 22 within the exposureaperture (FIG. 3). In an important aspect of the present invention, eachphotographic image 734-740 of the folio-style photograph 732 cancomprise a different photograph by selectively masking out the magnifiedimage-bearing light beams which project upwardly from the lens units486-490 in conjunction with the bi-directional film feature of the filmdeck 48. The selective masking is accomplished through the use of themasking member 516 of the third projection assembly 318 (FIGS. 22A-22C).More specifically, the first and second quad lens masking apertures 540,542 of the third projection assembly 318 (FIG. 22A) are disposed in aspaced and staggered relation such that the masking member 516 willeffectively block out three of the four magnified image-bearing lightbeams from the quad lens assembly 434 when one of the masking apertures540, 542 is positioned above one of the lens units 484-490.

In order to create the first photographic image 734, the thirdprojection assembly 318 is positioned such that the first quad lensmasking aperture 540 is directly above the first lens unit 484. Thisallows the magnified image-bearing light from the first lens unit 484 toproject upwardly toward the paper 22 while the masking member 516effectively blocks out the image-bearing light from the second, third,and fourth lens units 486-490. The second photographic image 736 may besimilarly formed by positioning the third projection assembly 318 suchthat the second quad lens masking aperture 542 is located directly abovethe second lens unit 486, thereby allowing the image-bearing light fromthe second lens unit 486 to project upwardly in an unimpeded fashionsuch that the masking member 516 blocks out the image-bearing light fromthe first, third, and fourth lens units 484, 488, 490. The third andfourth photographic images 738, 740 are formed in similar fashion bypositioning the second quad lens masking aperture 542 over the thirdlens unit 488 and positioning the first quad lens masking aperture 540over the fourth lens unit 490, respectively. In a preferred embodiment,the first and second masking assemblies 324, 326 may be employed tocreate sharply defined borders on the resulting photographic images734-740. This is accomplished by selectively positioning the first andsecond masking members 324, 326 such that the first masking member 324is disposed within the penumbra, or shadow, of the trailing edge of theimage-bearing light projecting upwardly from each lens unit 484-490,while the second masking member 326 is likewise positioned within thepenumbra, or shadow, of the leading edge of the image-bearing lightprojecting upwardly from each lens unit 484-490.

FIG. 31 illustrates the high speed package printer 10 of the presentinvention configured to produce a 13UP photograph 742 comprising ninewallet-sized photographic images 744, three sub-wallet-sizedphotographic images 746, and one 5″×7″ photographic image 748. The thirdprojection assembly 318 (FIGS. 22A-22C) is positioned within the lensdeck 52 such that the 13UP lens assembly 514 is centered within theimage-bearing light which progresses upwardly through the aperture 384of the first projection assembly 314 (FIG. 19A). In an important aspectof the present invention, the wallet lens module 530, the sub-walletlens module 532, and the 5″×7″ lens module 534 are configured so as tosimultaneously magnify and project all of the photographic images744-748 onto the paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110 (FIG. 3) foreach exposure performed by the film deck 48. In this fashion, all of thephotographic images 744-748 which comprise the 13UP photograph 742 arebased on the same negative and therefore result in identical photographsof varying size. Producing the 13UP photograph 742 to comprise identicalphotographic images of varying size is particularly noteworthy in viewof the prior art package printers which typically employ separate lensassemblies for producing each particular size of photograph. Such priorart systems therefore require the use of several different lensassemblies to generate photographs of varying size which, it will beappreciated, consumes a considerable amount of time to accomplish theselective positioning and exposure. The 13UP lens assembly 514 of thepresent invention, on the contrary, advantageously increases the numberof photographs which may be generated during the exposure of a singlenegative, thereby maximizing the efficiency of the package printer 10 ofthe present invention.

Creating the 13UP photograph 742 presents a significant technicalchallenge in that the wide range of photograph sizes (i.e. wallet,sub-wallet, and 5″×7″) necessarily requires lens assemblies having awide range of focal lengths. More specifically, with combined referenceto FIG. 31, the focal length of the 5″×7″ lens assembly 514 issubstantially larger than the focal length of the wallet and sub-walletlens assemblies 530, 532, while the focal length of the sub-wallet lensassembly 532 is substantially shorter than the 5″×7″ and wallet lensassemblies 514, 530 in order to create the photographic images 744-748.In an important aspect of the present invention, the 5″7″ lens assembly514 is constructed in a retro-focus arrangement and the sub-wallet lensassembly 532 is constructed with an internal mirror arrangement suchthat both lens assemblies are as close as possible to the center ofgravity of the third projection assembly 318. Specifically, theretro-focus feature of the 5″×7″ lens assembly 534 allows it to bedisposed closer to the paper 22 than would ordinarily be possible, whilethe mirror arrangement of the sub-wallet lens assembly 532 allows it tobe disposed farther away from the paper 22 than would ordinarily bepossible. Constructing the 13UP lens assembly 514 in this fashion isbeneficial in that it brings the moment of inertia of the thirdprojection assembly 318 closer to its center of gravity so as toeffectively eliminate any rocking or vibrations following the movementof the third projection assembly 318, thereby minimizing setting timeand increasing the overall speed of operation of the package printer 10.The 13UP lens assembly 514 is furthermore advantageous in thateffectively creates the photographic images 744-748 shown in FIG. 31 inclose proximity to one another so as to minimize the amount of spacebetween the adjacent photographic images. This, it will be appreciated,is beneficial in that it amounts to a more efficient use of thephotographic paper 22.

With reference to FIGS. 22A-23, space within the lens deck 52 isfurthermore conserved by constructing the 5″×7″ lens assembly such thatthe fifth and sixth lens members 590, 592 are each provided as half-lensin shape. As noted above, the 5″×7″ lens module 534 is positioned withinthe lens deck 52 such that the first and second lens members 582, 584are off-center with respect to the negative 408 within the film aperture236. The image-bearing light rays 594 therefore pass angularly from thenegative 408 into the first and second lens members 582, 584 and onwardin an angular fashion to the third and fourth lens members 586, 588. Theimage-bearing light 594 thereafter exits the fourth lens member 588 andcontinues angularly to the right of center so as to project fullythrough the fifth and sixth lens members 590, 592. This is advantageousin that the fifth and sixth lens members 590, 592 do not need to beconstructed as full lenses to include the left halves 590′, 592′ asshown in phantom. Rather, the fifth and sixth lens members 590, 592 maybe formed in the half disc shape, thereby reducing the amount of spaceconsumed by the 5″×7″ lens module 534.

Although the fourth and fifth projection assemblies 320, 322 are notshown in operation, it is to be understood that the fourth and fifthprojection assemblies 320, 322 are selectively positionable within thelens deck 52 via motors 340, 344, respectively, for producing aplurality of identical photographic images on the paper 22 within theexposure aperture 110 (FIG. 3). More specifically, the 18UP lensassembly 600 of the fourth projection assembly 320 may be selectivelypositioned within the image-bearing light projecting through theaperture 384 of the first projection assembly 314 (FIG. 19A) so as toproject a bank of eighteen individual photographs as described abovewith reference to FIGS. 24A and 24B. The lens units 612 of the 18UP lensassembly 600 project upwardly in an off-center fashion such that theresulting bank of eighteen photographic images is disposed on the paper22 proximate the leading edge 126 of the exposure aperture 110 (FIG. 3).In a preferred embodiment, each bank of eighteen photographs consumesapproximately one third (⅓) length of the exposure aperture 110 suchthat 54 photographs can be generated on a single 10″×13″ swath ofunexposed paper 22 within the exposure aperture 110. This is easilyaccomplished by advancing the paper 22 such that the original bank ofeighteen photographs is positioned slightly outside the exposureaperture 110, re-exposing the negative to form a second bank of eighteenphotographs adjacent to the first bank, and repeating this process toform a third bank of eighteen photographs adjacent to the second bank.The fifth projection assembly 322 may be operated in a similar fashionto produce a bank of three individual charm-sized photographs on thepaper 22 proximate the leading edge 126 of the exposure aperture 110(FIG. 3). For example, the fifth projection assembly 322 may be employedto create a row of three charm photographs alongside an 8″×10″photograph.

It should be noted with particularity that each photographic imagecreated by the projection assemblies 314-322 is projected off-center tothe right of the negative, as designated by reference numeral 716, suchthat the resulting images are formed proximate the leading edge 126 ofthe exposure aperture 110 (FIG. 3). Such off-center printing isadvantageous in that the paper 22 can be marked via paper punchingactuators 122, 124 while the exposures are being carried out. This is incontra-distinction to the prior art printers which print on-center inthat the paper 22 must be advanced in such systems following eachexposure to appropriately mark the paper for processing. The additionalstep of advancing, it will be appreciated, consumes valuable time andtherefore decreases the overall output of such prior art packageprinters over a given time. The off-center printing of the presentinvention, however, effectively eliminates any additional advancingsteps for marking by printing off-center such that the marking can beconducted by the actuators 122, 124 while the exposures are beingconducted. This advantageously increases the overall speed and henceoutput of the package printer 10.

In summary, the high speed package printer 10 advantageously includes animproved paper loading feature for automatically loading photographicpaper without fear of having the paper buckling or becoming fouled up inthe paper transportation path. The ultrasonic proximity sensors 66, 68are provided for dynamically measuring the paper slack loops to ensurefor the smooth and efficient operation of the paper drive motors which,as will be appreciated, enables high speed paper advancing. Thediffusion plate cleaning assembly 284 sweeps the diffusion plate on aperiodic basis to automatically remove any and all dust particles and/or“floaters” which may have settled on the diffusion plate during use,thereby reducing the need to repeat tainted sittings and reducing theoverall amount of scrap and waste. The film cleaning assembly 182automatically removes dust and related impurities from the passing filmso as to improve overall print quality, reduce the amount of scrap, andreduce the need to manually touch-up the prints to remove blemishescaused by dust. The negative cropping assembly 268 is provided betweenthe lamp deck 50 and the film deck 48 for selectively cropping the lightwhich projects upwardly from the lamphouse 51 into one of severalsharply delineated border shapes. Furthermore, the bi-directional filmmovement and selective masking capabilities advantageously provide thecapability to generate composite photographs based on a plurality ofdifferent negatives so as to eliminate the need for separate compositeprinters. The rotational prism assembly 356 advantageously generates10″×13″ photographs via optical rotation so as to eliminate the need fora rotating turret. The 13UP lens assembly 514 is capable of creatingnine wallet sized photographs, three sub-wallet sized photographs, and asingle 5″×7″ photograph with a single exposure. The filteringarrangement within the lamphouse 51 advantageously equalizes theoperation level of each lamp assembly 668-672 such that each light bulb698-702 will have the same approximate life span, thereby allowing allof the bulbs 698-702 to be replaced at the same time so as to minimizesystem down time.

The various embodiments of the present invention have been describedherein in considerable detail in order to comply with the PatentStatutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the informationneeded to apply the novel principles and to construct and use suchspecialized components as are required. It is also to be understood thatthe invention can be carried out by specifically different means andthat various modifications can be accomplished without departing fromthe scope of the invention itself Moreover, the correspondingstructures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plusfunction elements in the claims below are intended to include anystructure, material, or acts for performing the functions in combinationwith other claimed elements as specifically claimed.

For example, although the paper take-up cartridge 16 is shown as beingsubstantially smaller than the paper supply cartridge 14, it is to befully understood that the paper take-up cartridge 16 may be constructedin essentially the same fashion as the paper supply cartridge 14 so asto receive a greater quantity of photographic paper therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for improving the print quality of aphotographic printer comprising: a film supply spool and a film take upspool, the spools having a means for rotating such that a film havingnegatives thereon can be selectively bi-directionally translated betweenthe spools, a light source for projecting light through the negatives onthe film, a diffusion plate between the light source and the negativesfor diffusing the light before it passes through the negative on thefilm, a paper supply spool and a paper take up spool, the spools havinga means for rotating such that photographic paper is translated betweenthe spools, a lens between the film and the photographic paper forfocusing the light from the negatives on the photographic paper, a meansfor cleaning the diffusion plate by relative translation of a cleaningimplement on the surface of the diffusion plate to remove dust and otherparticles from the diffusion plate, and an electrostatic charging meansfor applying an electrostatic charge to said film such that the chargeis on both sides of the film and repels dust, dirt and other objects onthe film to make it easier to remove therefrom, then engaging, a firstbrush for cleaning a first side of the film and a second brush forcleaning a second side of the film, said brushes sandwiching the filmfor removing dust, dirt and other objects therefrom, a vacuum on bothsides of the film for removing dust dirt and other objects from thefilm, a first air jet tube having apertures therein and a second air jettube having apertures therein, the tubes and their apertures on oppositesides of the film for applying a jet of air on the film surfaces toloosen dust, dirt and other objects from the film such that the vacuumcan remove the dust, dirt and other objects from the area and the filmcan be used to print pictures from a clean negative.
 2. An apparatus forimproving the print quality of a photographic printer as in claim 1wherein: the means for cleaning the diffusion plate comprises a brush.3. An apparatus for improving the print quality of a photographicprinter as in claim 2 wherein: the brush fixed at a predeterminedlocation and translated relative the diffusion plate by a sliding meansfor sliding the diffusion plate past the brush to remove dust and otherunwanted particles from the diffusion plate.
 4. An apparatus forimproving the print quality of a photographic printer as in claim 3wherein: the sliding means including at least one slide member attachedto said diffusion plate, at least one rail member capable of beingslidably coupled to the at least one slide member attached to thediffusion plate and motor means coupled to the diffusion plate forselectively translating the diffusion plate along at least one railmember such that said diffusion plate is swept by the brush.
 5. Anapparatus for improving the print quality of a photographic printer asin claim 2 wherein: the diffusion plate being fixed at a predeterminedlocation and translated relative the brush by a sliding means forsliding the brush past the diffusion plate to remove dust and otherunwanted particles from the diffusion plate.
 6. An apparatus forimproving the print quality of a photographic printer as in claim 5wherein: the sliding means including at least one slide member attachedto said brush, at least one rail member capable of being slidablycoupled to the at least one slide member attached to the brush and motormeans coupled to the brush for selectively translating the brush alongat least one rail member such that said brush sweeps the diffusionplate.
 7. An apparatus for improving the print quality of a photographicprinter as in claim 2 wherein: the brush includes an upper brush memberfor sweeping an upper surface of the diffusion plate and a lower brushmember for sweeping a lower surface of the diffusion plate.
 8. Anapparatus for improving the print quality of a photographic printer, asin claim 1 wherein: a first sticky roller engages and removes dust, dirtand other objects from the top of the film and a second sticky rollerengages and removes dust, dirt and other objects from the bottom of thefilm before it reaches the electrostatic charging means.
 9. An apparatusfor improving the print quality of a photographic printer, as in claim 8wherein: a third sticky roller engages and removes dust, dirt and otherobjects from the top of the film after the film passes the vacuum andair jet tubes when the film is moving in one direction and before thefilm reaches the air jet tubes and vacuum when the film moves in theopposite direction.
 10. An apparatus for improving the print quality ofa photographic package printer comprising: a film supply spool and afilm take up spool the spools having a means for rotating such that afilm having negatives thereon can be selectively bi-directionallytranslated between the spools, an electrostatic charging means forapplying an electrostatic charge to said film such that the charge is onboth sides of the film and repels dust, dirt and other objects on thefilm to make it easier to remove the dust, dirt and other objects fromthe film, a first brush for cleaning a first side of the film and asecond brush for cleaning a second side of the film, said brushessandwiching the film for removing dust, dirt and other objectstherefrom, a vacuum on both sides of the film for removing dust dirt andother objects from the film, a first air jet tube having aperturestherein and a second air jet tube having apertures therein, the tubesand their apertures on opposite sides of the film for applying a jet ofair on the film surfaces to loosen dust, dirt and other objects from thefilm such that the vacuum can remove the dust, dirt and other objectsfrom the area and the film can be used to print pictures from a cleannegative.
 11. An apparatus for improving the print quality of aphotographic package printer, as in claim 10 wherein: a first stickyroller engages and removes dust, dirt and other objects from the top ofthe film and a second sticky roller engages and removes dust dirt andother objects from the bottom of the film before it reaches theelectrostatic charging means.
 12. An apparatus for improving the printquality of a photographic package printer, as in claim 11 wherein: athird sticky roller engages and removes dust, dirt and other objectsfrom the top of the film adjacent the air jet tubes.
 13. A method ofcleaning a film in a photographic package printer which selectivelybi-directionally translating a film having a plurality of negativesthereon between two spools such that negatives will be correctly alignedfor printing therefrom printer comprising the steps of: translating thefilm adjacent an electrostatic charging device for charging the film inorder to repel dust, dirt, and other objects from the films surfacemaking the film easier to clean, brushing the film to remove dust, dirt,and other objects from the films surface, vacuuming the film to removedust, dirt, and other objects from the films surface, applying a jet ofair on the film to remove dust, dirt and other objects from the filmssurface adjacent to air stream entering the vacuum such that the airjets stir up dust dirt and other objects from the films surface to besucked up by the vacuum.
 14. A method of cleaning a film in aphotographic package printer as in claim 13 including the step of:rolling the film over a sticky roller engaging the top of the film and asticky roller for engaging the bottom of the film for removing dust,dirt and other objects from the film adjacent the electrostatic chargingdevice.
 15. A method of cleaning a film in a photographic packageprinter as in claim 14 including the step of: rolling the film over asticky roller engaging the top of the film for removing dust, dirt andother objects from the film adjacent the air jet tubes such that whenthe film direction is reversed the sticky roller and the air jet andvacuum clean the film before the negative is printer from.